A Suna Story
by Nicola19
Summary: A new girl moves to suna and befriends little Gaara. Then he pushes her away when his uncle attacks him. Then she is made his teams medical nin during training. Will they become friends again? GaaraxOC minor saksas
1. Prologue

Alright I decided to rewrite this story so here's the beginning of the rewrite. Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters from Naruto

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**Prologue**

The little girl looked around the play ground. To tell the truth she was very nervous. Her name was Kaoru. She had long raven hair that was pulled back into a pony tail with bangs that framed her face. They eyes that searched the playground were a crimson color.

Kaoru had just moved to Suna the day before. Her parents had been killed while on a mission in her old home. Usually the father's clan was suppose to take her in but they hadn't approved of his wife so they didn't accept Kaoru either. The only thing left was to send her to Suna where her mother's clan lived. The Tsukino's were more than happy to have her especially her grandmother, Kaede.

So now here she was on the playground wanting to play but too nervous to talk to someone. Her crimson eyes looked around and then she saw him. A little boy about her age was sitting on a swing all alone. His hair was as red as her eyes and his green eyes were surrounded by dark rings. The little girl was shy but she was also kind and he looked so lonely. After a moments hesitation her kindness won over her shyness and she walked over to him.

"Umm, hi," she said nervously. He looked up at her in mild surprise and suspicion. She swallowed and continued, "My name is Kaoru Tsukino. What's your name?"

He sat up a little straighter and tilted his head to the side, "Gaara."

She gave him a shy smile, "I just moved here and I don't know anyone. Do you think...do you want to come play with me?"

He blinked as if no one had ever asked him that before. This confused Kaoru. Had she lived here before then she would have known that no one played with Gaara. She would have heard that he was a monster and to be left alone. However no one bothered to tell her that she shouldn't play with Gaara and she couldn't see any reason not to on her own. All she could see was it was easier to talk to him than the crowd of kids that were playing without them both.

"You want to play with me?" he asked her as if he didn't believe her.

"Yes. Is that bad?"

"Everyone else seems to think so."

"Is that why you are sitting here by yourself?"

He nodded sadly.

"Well I can't see any reason not to play with you. So do you want to play?" she asked again.

Finally Gaara smiled. He got up and nodded at her. She smiled brightly at him and reached out and tapped his arm. While doing that she shouted, "Tag!" Then she ran off laughing. He blinked in surprise for a moment then ran after her with a smile.

After that day the two of them were inseparable. People tried to warn Kaoru not to befriend Gaara but she would always ask them why and for the life of them they couldn't answer her. How did they explain that to a 5 year old? So they turned to her grandmother but Kaede just chuckled and said, "Let them enjoy being children. There will be plenty of time for the real world later." No one ever understood what she meant by that but they guessed that meant that she wouldn't do anything about it.

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The two enrolled into ninja school together and were often seen doing homework together. One day Kaoru was sick and couldn't go to school or meet Gaara like they had planned. Kaede was making some soup for her unhappy granddaughter when she heard a knock at the door. She opened it and smiled at what she saw.

"Why hello, Gaara. I wasn't expecting you."

She looked up and saw a man standing behind the little boy. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. He gave her a smile, "Hello. I'm Gaara's uncle Yashamaru."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Kaoru's grandmother Kaede. Come in."

The two of them walked in while Yashamaru explained, "Gaara was worried when his friend didn't come to school today and he wouldn't relax until I brought him so that he could check on her."

Kaede smiled, "That's very sweet of you, Gaara."

Gaara looked shyly at her and asked, "Is Kaoru ok?"

"Kaoru's fine. She just has a cold and I thought it best she get some rest. Would you like to see her? I think she would like that."

He nodded. Kaede turned and began to lead them to Kaoru's room. A sad look came into her eyes that were just like Kaoru's. Gaara was only comfortable with Kaoru. He was still afraid to trust anyone else would accept him, especially adults. They reached her granddaughter's room and she stepped aside so that Gaara could go in.

Kaoru looked over thinking it would be her grandmother bringing her soup. When she saw Gaara she smiled and scooted over so that he could sit down beside her. Gaara sat after she motioned for him to. Her voice was scratchy from her cold when she spoke.

"Hey Gaara. I'm sorry I didn't come over. Grandma wouldn't let me."

"It's alright. You need to get better."

"How was school?"

Gaara began telling her about what they had learned that day. Kaoru sat back and listened occasionally asking a question. Kaede slid the door closed so that they could talk. She motioned for Yashamaru to follow her to the kitchen. The soup was still on the stove after all. Maybe Gaara would want some too. She would have to get him a bowl too.

"So you're Gaara's uncle. He talks about you a lot."

He smiled, "He does?"

Kaede gave him a shrewed look, "Yes, the boy looks up to you a great deal."

A strange look entered Yashamaru's eyes but it was gone before Kaede could decipher it. He smiled again, "I'm glad."

"I have to say I'm glad that you don't treat him like his father does. That boy suffers enough as it is. I've only seen him smile around Kaoru."

"He has reason to be wary."

"Yes I know. That's what's wrong. A child shouldn't know how to be wary."

Kaede carried the two bowls of soup to the children and they began to eat. Kaede turned and saw Yashamaru looking at Gaara. She frowned at what she saw. That man was very bitter and this boy was the root of it. Kaede knew that his sister had been sacrificed to put the Shukaku into Gaara. Yashamaru may care about Gaara but he also hated him. Kaede just hoped that Gaara didn't get hurt because of it.

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A weeks later a knock on Kaoru's window woke her up. She was better now and had seen Gaara in school that day. She knew something was wrong with him but he hadn't wanted to talk about it. She didn't push him. All she did was let him know that she would listen when he was ready. He had smiled and then they had gone to play.

The knock came again. She got up and walked over to the window to look out. Gaara was standing on her balcony. He looked upset. Kaoru immediately slid the door open for him. He came in then fell to his knees on the floor. She closed the door then knelt in front of him.

"Gaara, what's wrong?"

"He hates me."

"Who?" she asked in confusion.

"My father. He hates me."

She didn't know what to say to that so she just wrapped her arms around him and held him while he cried. Kaoru decided then that she hated the Kazekage. What kind of father would treat their child this way? Her own father had loved her and taken good care of her. Then again his family hadn't loved her. She supposed that being family didn't mean that they cared about you at all.

"Everyone hates me," Gaara whispered.

Now she couldn't let him think that. Even at five she knew that she had to help him feel better. In fact that was all she understood about this particular situation. She pulled back and made him look at her, "I don't hate you, Gaara. I'm your friend and I always will be."

"Promise?"

She may have only been five but she knew that a promise was important. When you promised you couldn't go back on it. A determined fire came into her red eyes.

"Promise."

He seemed to relax and then he managed a small smile, "Thank you."

She gave him a smile, "You don't need to thank me for being your friend, Gaara. Just be my friend too. Come one. Let's go to sleep."

"I can't."

She tilted her head, "Why not?"

"If I go to sleep the thing in me will take over."

"Don't worry, Gaara. Even if it does, Grandma is here as she'll help you. I'll help too if I can."

He considered this for a moment and then nodded. Sure her logic was a bit flawed but it sounded perfect to a child. So she pulled him up to the bed and covered him up. Then she snuggled against him. A few minutes later the two of them fell asleep. That was how Kaede found them the next morning. After that day it wasn't abnormal to find Gaara at the Tsukino compound the morning. He would disappear from his bed and then reappear at the Tsukino breakfast table. No one bothered to complain. Kaede even encouraged it because Gaara would only sleep when Kaoru was near by.

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Something was wrong. Kaoru just knew that something was wrong with Gaara. All the adults kept telling her that she was being paranoid whatever that meant. Gaara had just left their compound to go home. They didn't listen to Kaoru when she told them that Yashamaru hadn't come to get her friend like he was suppose to. That made everything wrong. Gaara had told her that he would be fine but she was worried. So she did what any 5 year old ninja would do when worried but no one would listen. She climbed out of her window when everyone was asleep.

She searched everywhere and just when she was about to give up she saw it. Gaara's sand from the gourd he carried on his back lift up in a semi circle. Kaoru ran in that direction. She landed on the roof to see Gaara standing by Yashamaru crying and asking him why. Yashamaru said something that hurt Gaara a lot. She could see it. Worried for her friend she started to run over.

"Gaara, are you alright?"

Gaara turned to see her just when everything exploded. Kaoru yelled for Gaara while crossing her arms over her face to protect herself. When she opened her eyes she saw that his sand had protected both of them. She walked over to her friend. He backed away from her.

"Gaara..."

"Go away," he snapped.

She jerked back as if someone had slapped her. Her crimson eyes held hurt in them as they took in the changes that she didn't understand. His green eyes were cold and his stand was aggressive. The kanji for love was on his forhead in red. She tried to walk towards him again.

"Gaara, are you alright?"

"I was right. No one cares about me. Even Yashamaru hated me," he stated bitterly.

"I care, Gaara. I promised I would always be your friend and I'll keep that promise."

"You're probably just like Yashamaru. Leave me alone."

She stood there for a moment. This wasn't the kind of situation a 5 year old knew how to handle. In the end she turned and started to head back to her clan's compound. She stopped at the edge of the roof.

"I will always be your friend, Gaara. I keep my promises. One day you'll believe me," she said.

With that she went home. When she arrived Kaoru again did the only thing a child could do. She cried and ran for her grandmother. Kaede held her while she cried and told her what she had seen and Gaara had said. Kaede filled in the blanks herself. The old woman felt sorry for Gaara and for her granddaughter. It looked like the real world had caught up to the two children. Kaoru fell asleep promising to stay Gaara's friend no matter what. The little girl was determined now. She would prove to him that she cared because one day he would need to know that.

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There it is. Please review and let me know what you think of it. 


	2. Meeting Again

Here's the very first chapter...not counting the prologue. I'm definitely liking the story a lot better this time around. Anyways hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**  
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**Ch. 1: Meeting Again**

It was bright cheerful day in Suna but it had no affect on Kaoru. She was feeling very grumpy at the moment. The Kazekage was coming to the academy to talk about loyalty to him and to Suna. What a hypocrite. It wouldn't be so bad if she didn't have to be there. She hadn't attended the academy in several years. She was trained at the hospital as a medical nin. Her sensei Yuri had ordered her to attend the meeting. So here she was at the academy for the first time in years to listen to a man she hated.

"Class I would like to present the Kazekage."

Everyone but Kaoru and Gaara clapped. They were all excited to hear from their Kazekage. Kaoru just glared at him. He looked right at her and raised his eyebrow. She looked away with a 'humph' and preceded to ignore him. Well, she tried to just ignored him.

"Today you will all graduate from the academy years and become genin of Suna. You will all be expected to give your lives for this village without hesitation. You will also be expected to obey and serve me as your Kazekage. The life of a shinobi isn't easy. You will have to depend on each other and take care of each other."

The Kazekage continued to talk about loyalty and honor. It was making Kaoru sick. Finally she couldn't take it anymore. The girl stood up and walked towards the door. All eyes focused on her. Most held shock and disapproval. One pair of green eyes held mild curiosity.

"Kaoru Tsukino, sit down. The Kazekage isn't finished," the chunin that taught the class ordered.

Kaoru turned to him, "I don't care what his mightiness has to say. I'm going back to the hospital where I can to something useful."

"Yes, Yuri said you were doing very well. She believes you have the makings of the future head medic in Suna," the Kazekage commented.

"I'm glad she's proud of me," Kaoru said.

"Why don't you sit down, Kaoru. You still have to give your oath to me," the Kage stated.

"Does this oath say something to the effect of 'I promise to serve the Kazekage and obey his every command'?" she asked in a suspiciously sweet tone.

"Yes."

She glared, "No way. I won't promise any such thing."

"What?!" the chunin shouted.

"You heard me. I lost something very important to me because of the Kazekage and I refuse to give him anything unless I want to. Which means I can't make that oath."

The Kage tilted his head, "Why does that mean you can't give the oath?"

She gave him a scathing look, "I don't break my promises."

With that she left the room slamming th door behind her. Silence echoed in the room for a moment. Everyone was waiting for the Kazekage's reaction. To their surprise the man just shook his head with a resigned sigh. After the class the Kage was sitting in his office with his council.

"I expected Kaoru to act like that. She's hated me for quite some time now."

"What will you do? She isn't loyal to anyone on the council so there's no way around her hate. Why do you want her loyalty anyway?" one of the Jounin asked him.

"Kaoru Tsukino's kekkei genkai is the strongest of her clan's history. Not only that but she really does have great potential as a medical nin. And it is true that she isn't loyal to anyone in this room but she is loyal to someone and I can use that."

"But she only loyal to her clan," another commented.

"Now that isn't true. Kaoru is loyal to one other person."

"Who, Kazekage?"

"Gaara."

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Kaede found her in the desert. That was where Kaoru went when she was upset. There was a cliff overlooking the area. The girl would sit at the edge of the cliff with one leg dangling off the edge the other would be bent. She would find a spot with a rock close enough to lean against and stare at the land beneath her. Kaede shook her head at her granddaughter.

"I heard you walked out on the Kazekage today."

"Am I in trouble?" Kaoru asked.

"No. He seems to have expected it."

"What is he going to do about it?" she asked her grandmother.

"I don't know. Yuri wants to speak with you now though."

"Alright. I'm going."

Kaoru stood up and dusted herself off. Kaede watched her and knew that her temper was far from calmed yet. "Kaoru, maybe you should consider being a little less obvious about your hate for the Kazekage. You may be happier for it," she suggested.

Kaoru sighed, "I know. I just can't stand him. Because of him Gaara has turned into what everyone feared he would be."

"I know dear. But there is still hope for Gaara. You said he could still feel so he isn't all gone yet."

"But he only feels every once and a while and even then it's never a strong emotion," Kaoru said in exasperation.

"But he still feels. And you don't know what he feels for you."

That was true. Kaoru had the Tsukino clan's kekkei genkai which was a magical empathy. This power was especially strong in the women. Kaoru's was even stronger than most. She couldn't only tell what someone felt but why they felt that way. The only time she couldn't tell what someone was feeling was when they were feeling an extreme emotion that was directed at her. Kaoru sighed. She didn't bother telling her Granmother that there was no way Gaara felt anything strongly for her. If he felt anything towards her it would be weak enough that she would know about it.

"I'll see you later Grandma. I'm going to the hospital to see what Yuri wants."

"Alright dear. Be careful."

Kaede watched her granddaughter run off. The truth was Kaoru didn't have much of a temper. If anything she was normally very calm and hard to anger. Only two things have ever made Kaoru truly angry. Someone badmouthing Gaara or the Kazekage. Normally Koaru tried a little to hard to please the people around her. Occasionally Kaoru would even let people run over her in her efforts not to make them angry. Kaede prayed that someone would look out for her granddaughter and keep others from abusing her nature to please.

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Kaoru walked into Yuri's office. The woman behind the desk looked up with a smile. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. Yuri was the beauty of the village. She was also the head medic in Suna. The medic had seen Kaoru's potential as a medical nin and took her in for training. Kaoru had been happy with the arrangement because she hated to fight anyway. Being a medic would suite her just fine.

"Grandma said you wanted to see me, Yuri."

"Yes. Come in and sit down, Kaoru." Yuri examined the girl she thought of as her own. Kaoru had a good heart that might be just a little to big for her own good. The head medic had done her best to protect the girl from the people who would exploit Kaoru's kindness for their own reasons and had so far succeeded. Now she was about to put the girl in a situation where she would have to fend for herself. "Kaoru, you will need to join a team of genin to receive the rest of your training."

Kaoru's eyes widened, "But..."

Yuri held out a hand to stop her from talking, "Hear me out. You need field training. It's true you have the most potential of all the trainees at the the hospital but you have no training outside of this hospital. You'll need some because there will be a time when you will have to go on a mission with a team as a medic and you will have to fend for yourself. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now I'm assigning you with Team Baki. They are at their training grounds right now. You will go to meet them. Baki is expecting you. Any questions?" (A/N: i know i know. there is normally only three genin to a team and one jounin but I needed her on this team so there it is. Sorry to anyone who doesn't like it.)

"Yes. Will I still train at the hospital?"

"You can in your spare time but it isn't a requirement at this time." Kaoru nodded and stood up to leave but was stopped at the door when Yuri spoke again, "And Kaoru."

"Yes?"

"Be careful. Don't let anyone bring you down or run over you to get what they want."

Kaoru nodded again and left. About an hour later she was standing at the edge of Team Baki's training grounds. She wanted to turn around and leave. Why the hell hadn't Yuri warned her that this was Gaara's team? In the center of the area sat Kankuro and Temari. Their sensei, Baki, was standing in front of them. A little behind his two older siblings stood Gaara. Kaoru tried to swallow around the lump in her throat and walked towards them. Baki saw her first because the others had their backs to her.

"Ahh, there she is. Now let's get started. I would skip this part because the three of you are related but Kaoru doesn't know you so we'll go through the process anyway. I want you state your name, age, and something about yourself. Kaoru, you start."

"Oh, alright. My name is Kaoru Tsukino and I'm 12 years old. I will be a medical nin as soon as my training is finished."

"Then why are you here? I thought medics trained at the hospital," Temari asked.

"They do but they also usually train during the academy years. I didn't. Yuri, my trainer, says that I need field training so here I am."

"Makes sense I suppose. But didn't your parents teach you this stuff?" Kankuro asked.

Kaoru looked away, "I don't have parents. They died when I was 5."

"Oh, sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Kaoru said with a small smile.

No one noticed Gaara look over at her. His green eyes were emotionless but the pain in her eyes pulled something in him. He thought he had let all these emotions go. Oh well, they would be gone soon enough. Still...

Kankuro was next, "I'm Kankuro and I'm 14 years old. I'm a puppeteer."

"My name is Temari and I'm 15. My specialty is strategy and using my fan here."

Everyone turned to Gaara to see if he would speak. Kaoru hoped so. It had been a long time since she had heard his voice. Gaara looked at them for a moment before saying, "Sabaku no Gaara. 12 years old. Sand Jutsu."

Kaoru blinked. She hadn't actually expected him to speak. His voice was scratchy as if it hadn't been used much. He still seemed to feel nothing for the things or people around him. His green eyes looked into her crimson eyes. She smiled shyly at him. His eyes widened a fraction before returning to normal. That smile had brought back a memory of a little girl smiling at him in the exact same way with kindness in her crimson eyes.

"Alright then. I want to see how skilled the four of you are. I'll fight you one at a time. Kankuro, you first."

After a few minutes Kankuro lost and then it was Temari's turn. She lasted a little longer than her brother but she still wasn't any match for Baki. Kaoru looked at him nervously when it was her turn.

"I've never been trained how to fight," she stated.

Baki's eyes widened, "Never."

"No, sir. They sent me straight into medical training and ignored any other kind of training."

"Alright then. You'll practice with Temari. She'll help you catch up."

Kaoru nodded and her and Temari got to work. Everyone but Gaara trained for the rest of the day. Kaoru was sore and tired. She couldn't seem to get it right. That didn't surprise her. She hated to fight at all. The skill didn't come easy to her because she didn't want it. Oh well, she would get it eventually.

"Hey Kaoru," a familiar voice called.

Kaoru turned to see a friend of hers running towards her, "Hello Hanna."

"I heard you got placed on the same team as Gaara. I'm sorry."

Kaoru tilted her head to the side, "What for?"

"Everyone knows that Gaara is a monster and now you're stuck on the same team as him," Hanna replied as if it was the simplest thing in the world. Kaoru drew in a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself and it would have worked if Hanna hadn't of had more to say. "He is so cold. I can't see why the Kazekage hasn't had him killed yet. He's an abomination."

"Hanna, shut up," Kaoru said through gritted teeth.

Hanna blinked in surprise, "What?"

"I said shut up. You're wrong about Gaara. He isn't a monster and I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about him like that."

"Kaoru, I know you use to talk to him but he has always been a monster. You just have to face facts."

"No I don't because you're wrong. For your information I didn't just talk to Gaara. He was my friend and just so you know he was a very good friend. It was the Kazekage and the people of this village that made him the way he is now."

Hanna was insulted now, "What makes you think it was us?"

Kaoru's temper snapped, "Because all he wanted was to be accepted and it was the one thing everyone denied him. His own father wanted him killed and the rest of the village ignored and feared him. How did you expect him to turn out?"

"Now see here..."

"No, I'm done listening to you. You can have your own opinion all you want but don't talk about Gaara that way in front of me," Kaoru interrupted before storming off leaving Hanna standing there in shock.

Neither noticed Gaara standing in the shadows. To say he was surprised would have been an understatement. No one had ever defended him like that. _"I will always be your friend Gaara. One day you'll believe me." _Her words from long ago echoed in his head. He shook his head to get rid of his thoughts. It was impossible. She didn't care about him and never would. He turned and headed home.

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A few days later Baki told everyone that they had the day off and to enjoy it. Kaoru stayed in the field even after everyone had left. She wanted to train some more. Something was wrong with her stance and she couldn't figure out what it was. She was so absorbed in her training that she didn't see the person watching her.

Gaara had seen her stay behind. He also knew that after training everyday she would go to the hospital to work. The girl was going to wear herself out. For some strange reason that bothered him. After he saw that she was going to train right through lunch if she wasn't stopped he walked over to her. He didn't bother thinking about his actions or the reasons behind them. He kept thinking about how she had defended him even though he had been just a cruel to her as he was to everyone else.

"You should eat."

Kaoru stopped when she heard the voice behind her. She knew that voice. Slowly she turned around to face him, "Hello, Gaara."

He didn't say anything else. His green eyes stayed focused on her as she looked at him expectantly. When it became obvious he wasn't going to say anything else she broke the silence.

"I'll eat in a little while."

"You've been training nonstop for five hours."

"I'm fine."

He let out a mental sigh. Had she always been this irritating or was that a trait she developed after she grew up? He started walking over to her. It surprised him when she didn't back away or look frightened. Her reaction was curiosity. The girl wasn't afraid of him. He reached out and placed a hand on her arm. She still didn't back up or pull away.

"Your stance is wrong," he stated and then corrected it.

Kaoru examined the stance he put her in to make sure she remembered it. Then she performed some simple taijustu. When she was finished she wasn't in the right stance anymore. This frustrated her. The problem was the right stance just felt wrong. She didn't want to stand in that position. Gaara walked to her and adjusted her stance again but kept her from moving.

"The stance isn't natural to you. Instead of practicing your taijustu or ninjutsu practice the stance."

"How do I do that?"

"When you have the time just take that stance for a count of 10 then move on with your day. Repeat that several times a day."

She considered this. He was right. Eventually the stance would be normal and wouldn't feel so wrong. Gaara watched her think then barely kept himself from blinking in surprise when she smiled at him.

"Thanks, Gaara."

"Now will you go eat," he asked feeling exasperated.

"Yes."

"Good."

Gaara turned and began to leave. Then what he had just done hit him. What in the world had gotten into him? He didn't help people and he sure as hell didn't talk to them for that long. He had to be sick. That was the only explanation. Gaara had just come to that conclusion when he heard someone shouting his name. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Kaoru running towards him. He stopped.

"Gaara, do you want to come eat with me?" she asked.

Gaara swore he was going to tell her no. He didn't eat with other people or spend any amount of time with them. Too bad his body didn't agree with his head. It nodded his head against his will. She smiled and began to walk towards the village. That was fine he just wouldn't follow her. But his traitorous body began to walk behind her. Now he knew he was sick.

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There it is. I'm working on the next chapter for the Prisoner right now so I probably won't update for a few days. Now don't forget to review. Constructive criticism is good but absolutely no flames. those will be ignored so they are a waste of your time. 


	3. A Crack in Sand Armor

I'm so happy. You like my story. I do have only one comment. One of the reviewers asked me a question and I'm gonna answer it. KandiedTaikou I would love to read your story. Anyways here's the 2nd chapter.

Oh, before I forget:

"speaking"

'thinking'

_"Shukaku speaking to Gaara"_

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own Naruto

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**Ch. 2: A Crack in Sand Armor**

Gaara couldn't figure it out. How did he end up here with her? He was sitting across from Kaoru. She was eating her food in silence and it didn't seem to bother her that he was staring at her. In fact nothing seemed to bother her. She looked up at him. Her crimson eyes held concern.

"Umm, Gaara?"

He didn't respond.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

Still silent.

Kaoru sighed, "You know this would be a much more interesting conversation if you said something too."

"Why aren't you afraid?"

She smiled, "Now you're catching on."

He just looked at her. She sighed again, "Why should I be afraid?"

"I'm a weapon," he responded.

"No you're a person."

Gaara couldn't think of a single thing to say to that. She was the first person to think that. Most considered him a monster or a weapon. Here she was calling him a person. He hadn't considered himself a person in a long time.

He watched her as she continued to eat. Gaara didn't say another word and she didn't ask him to. After Kaoru finished eating the two of them left the restaurant. She smiled at him and thanked him for the company. Kaoru ran off down the road waving and saying something about the hospital. Gaara guessed that meant she was going to do a shift there. He headed out to the desert to figure out what the hell was wrong with him.

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She was exhausted. Kaoru could feel her muscles throbbing with the effort to dodge Temari's attack. The medic had gotten in a few blows of her own but she was still no match for the wind mistress. Gaara watched from the sidelines. Kaoru was definitely holding her stance a lot better today but she still needed a lot of training. Baki was shouting instructions to her to get her to improve and to her credit Kaoru tried. She just wasn't a fighter by nature.

Kaoru landed on the ground after dodging an attack. Her legs wouldn't support her anymore. She collapsed to the ground. Gaara felt his muscles tense in an effort to run to her but he held himself back. Kaoru braced herself on her hands and gasped for air.

Temari ran towards her, "Kaoru, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Kaoru stated forcing herself to get back up.

"Kaoru, let Temari spare with Kankuro. You need to rest and I need to see him fight," Baki ordered.

"Alright," she agreed.

Gaara noticed that she barely argued with anyone. If she wasn't careful someone was going to take advantage of that. Kankuro stood up and got his puppet ready. He glanced over at Kaoru. Gaara could guess what was coming. He wasn't the only one that noticed Kaoru didn't argue.

"Kaoru, why don't you get us something to drink," Kankuro suggested innocently.

Temari was about to say something but Kaoru spoke first, "Alright. I'll be back in a moment."

Kaoru walked towards the village. Gaara wondered if she knew that people were taking advantage of her and didn't care or if she was just that innocent. Temari gave Kankuro a look that didn't bode well for his continued health. Unfortunately for the puppeteer he wasn't paying any attention. When Kaoru returned Kankuro had so many bruises and cuts she was surprised he hadn't died. Temari was standing there looking pleased with herself.

"Umm, I've got the drinks," Kaoru said timidly.

"Great cause now I think I need that more than ever now. Temari is feeling vicious today," Kankuro complained.

He snatched one of the drinks from her. He sat down on the ground and began to drink. Kaoru sat next to him and held her hands out to him. A soft green glow came from them as she mended all his injuries. After she finished she carried the two of the other drinks to Temari and Baki. They both thanked her. Kaoru paused for a moment then walked over to Gaara. He watched her with curiosity. When she was standing next to him she held a drink out to him. His green eyes didn't leave hers as he reached up and took it. She gave him a small smile then sat down beside the large rock he was sitting on.

"Kankuro, you're healed now so let's continue the fight," Temari demanded.

"Geez, Temari don't you ever get tired of bossing everyone around?" Kankuro complained.

"Don't you ever get tired of being an ungrateful brat?" she responded.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Kaoru brought you something to drink and healed you even though she's exhausted and you didn't even say thank you," Temari snapped.

Kaoru stopped moving with her drink halfway to her mouth. She slowly lowered it when she realized what the source of Temari's anger was. Kaoru and Temari had been friends for a long time now. Temari often told Kaoru how Gaara was doing and Temari was the only one that Kaoru told about her friendship with Gaara all those years ago.

"Temari, it's alright," Kaoru said to her angry friend.

"No it's not alright. He shouldn't take advantage of you that way and you shouldn't let him."

"No really, Temari. It's alright," Kaoru said. She had a worried expression and she was waving both hands in front of her as if to hold Temari's temper off.

"You heard her, Temari. I'm going home," Kankuro said.

Baki had listened to the bickering and wondered how they had survive their missions. He glanced up at the sky and saw that it was almost noon, "Alright everyone we can take a break. Be back here in two hours."

"Yes, sir," everyone but Gaara said. Gaara just vanished in a whirl of sand.

Kaoru sighed and began to walk. She got to the hospital and got to work. At the beginning of her training they hadn't required her to go to the hospital. That was three weeks ago and now they decided that she should be able to handle it. Well, everyone but Yuri. But the higher ups didn't agree with her so Kaoru worked at the hospital when she wasn't training. When she wasn't at the hospital she trained. It was very exhausting but she didn't complain. Two hours later she trudged back to the training grounds. Everyone was there already.

"You're late," Baki said.

"I'm sorry," she said with a sheepish smile.

Gaara looked at her and could see that she was exhausted. He would be surprised if she had any chakra left. Baki seemed to also sense this. Now he may work his team hard but he wasn't heartless. He could see how hard Kaoru was working so he decided to cut her some slack.

"Kaoru I want you on target practice. Kankuro you'll spare with me first."

"Yes sir."

Kaoru went over to the targets and got to work. Dark fell before Baki called a halt to the training. Everyone but Kaoru started for their homes and a bed. She still had a few hours at the hospital to pull before she could sleep. It was almost midnight before she was allowed to go home and she was completely drained of chakra.

"Hey girlie," a slurred voice game from one of the alleys. "What's a girl like you doin' out here all alone?"

She backed away from him as he came out of the shadows. Kaoru smelt the alcohol oozing out of his pores. Her voice trembled slightly when she said, "Leave me alone."

"Now that's not very nice. And here I was goin' to walk ya home but now I don't think I will," he slurred. Then he had her pinned against the wall. She yelped in surprise. Her crimson eyes widened when she realized that she was in deep trouble.

"Let me go," she yelled struggling.

"I don't think so," he slurred.

She could feel his breath on her face and struggled harder. 'It's no good. I'm too tired and weak to fight,' she thought. Kaoru yelled out in desperation, "Someone help, please."

"No one's goin' to help you now," he said while his hand tightened on her throat.

Suddenly the sand beneath him seemed to explode. Kaoru fell to her knees and gasped for air. The sand wrapped around the man and held him in the air. She felt someone standing next to her and looked up. Gaara was kneeling down beside her.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded. The sand released the man that had attacked her and Gaara stood up. Even drunk he recognized Gaara and the fear seemed to sober him up real quick. He ran as fast as he could. Gaara seemed satisfied and turned back to Kaoru. She was staring at him with confused crimson eyes. He offered her a hand.

Kaoru took the offered hand. She was completely bewildered. He wasn't just angry. Gaara was pissed off. What was even more confusing was what had pissed him off. He was angry because that man had hurt her. She had to lean on him because she couldn't hold herself up anymore. He picked her up bridal style and began to walk in the direction of her clan's compound.

"Gaara?"

He looked at her.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

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Later that night Gaara was sitting on his bed thinking. What in the hell had gotten into him? He had been restless and went for a walk. He had heard Kaoru's voice calling for help and had reacted before he even had time to think about what he was doing. When he had seen that man holding her by her throat he had felt his rage boil over. The next thing he knew he was carrying her home. She had smiled at him again and looked at him with trusting crimson eyes. What was going on? He wasn't supposed to feel this way.

"_Well boy I would have to say you care for her," Shukaku's voice said in his head._

'I do not,' he thought right back.

"_Then how do you explain your actions, boy?"_

Gaara didn't have an answer for that. He sat there for a little while longer before coming to a decision. He wouldn't let her get in that situation again. She wouldn't be so tired that she couldn't fight the next person who came along and decided to mess with her. He didn't care about her but he didn't want to have to save her again. That decision made Gaara laid down and stared at the ceiling. He kept seeing her smile and those trusting crimson eyes.

"_She's cracked your armor," Shukaku stated._

Gaara couldn't help but wonder if maybe the demon was right.

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The next day, Kaoru had slept in late and when she had arrived to training and when Kankuro started to complain something made him stop. The color had drained from the puppeteer's face and he was staring over her shoulder. When Kaoru looked Gaara was standing there with his normal expression. She wondered what had happened between them.

Temari on the other hand hadn't missed it. She saw the slither of sand threaten to stab Kankuro in the back. It had come up from the ground and had only lightly poked her brother but the threat was made. What she didn't understand was why. What made Gaara do that? Gaara chose not to explain himself.

Gaara began to treat Kaoru differently. He didn't start talking to her or anything. It was little things that were almost unnoticeable. If anyone tried to boss her around they were immediately on the receiving end of his death glare. He wouldn't glare at her and more often than not seem to actually listen to her. Gaara didn't even come close to threatening her like he did everyone else. It was little things like that. Had it been anyone else no one would have noticed but it was Gaara. When he wasn't mean to someone it was noticed even if he wasn't nice to them either.

Kaoru was currently eating lunch with Temari. The wind mistress was looking at her friend with curiosity, "Kaoru, what's going on between you and Gaara?"

"What?" Then Kaoru snapped out of her thoughts, "Oh, nothing."

"He treats you differently. Do you know why?"

"No, I don't." Kaoru thought about it for a moment, "It's odd."

"What?"

"Well, the night before he started acting weird I was attacked on my way home from the hospital. Gaara saved me."

"What?!!" Temari shouted. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Sorry. I didn't want to worry you," Kaoru said sheepishly.

Temari smacked her own forehead in an annoyed gesture. Go figure Kaoru didn't say anything just so she wouldn't worry anyone. That still didn't explain Gaara's reaction though. He hadn't cared about anyone before so what changed? Temari was about to comment when Baki walked up to their table.

"Come with me. The Kazekage would like to speak with us," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," the two girls said as they got up to follow him.

When they arrived Gaara and Kankuro were already there. The Kazekage was sitting behind his desk. Kaoru promptly glared at him but kept her mouth shut. The genin stood behind their sensei to wait for the Kage's orders. He studied them for a moment.

"The chunin exams will be taking place next week. I want you to participate in them," he stated. "You will be leaving for Konoha tomorrow and will be representing Suna so behave. I will be there to watch during the final stages of the exams."

"What about Kaoru, father? She's a medic not a ninja," Temari asked.

"She will accompany you but it will be her choice to participate or not. Now go pack. You'll leave first thing in the morning."

Everyone went to prepare for the trip. Kaoru wondered what to expect. She hadn't been outside Suna since she was five years old. She decided not to participate in the fighting. Becoming a chunin or jonin wasn't one of her goals. All she wanted was to be a great medical nin. The chunin exams wouldn't make her one. She would go without a fight though. She wanted to support Gaara.

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That's it. I hope you enjoyed it. Now see that little gray button down there? The one with the word go on it? Do you see it? Good now push it and send me a review. 


	4. First Two Exams

Here it is. It took me a while to finish it. I hope I'm doing a good job at keeping Gaara in character. It's easier said than done. Anyways, I'll let you read now.

Disclaimer: I almost forgot (says in a monotone) I don't own Naruto or any of the characters for said show.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

_"Shukaku"_

Ok now on with the story

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**Ch. 3: First Two Exams **

The trip to Konoha was uneventful other than the few fights between Kankuro and Temari. Kaoru pretty much decided that those two would probably die if they went a day without fighting. The medic stayed close to Gaara most of the time and surprising enough he didn't complain about it. In fact he seemed to ignore her presence near him.

The first night held the biggest and only real surprise of the trip. Kaoru only had one real fear which she kept hidden from everyone because they would all think it was ridiculous. Ever since her parents died Kaoru had been afraid of the dark. Even Gaara hadn't known about her fear of the dark. Only one person in the world knew about it and that was her grandmother, Kaede.

Baki told them to set up camp a few minutes before the sun set. They could have kept going but none of them were in much of a rush. Besides, they wanted a good nights sleep. Kaoru knew she wouldn't be able to sleep but she could pretend until the others were asleep. She made herself comfortable and let thoughts run around in her mind. After a moment she could tell that everyone else was asleep. The medic sat up.

Kaoru hated the nights she couldn't sleep. They always made her remember that night seven years ago. She shook her head. That was in the past. It was over now and that time had long since come to move on.

Something moved at the edge of camp. Kaoru stiffened and she looked in the direction it had come from. Gaara walked into camp. 'That's right. He doesn't sleep at all,' she reminded herself.

"Hey Gaara. You don't mind if I stay up do you?"

He didn't respond. That wasn't a very big surprise. Kaoru chose to presume that meant that he didn't and wrapped her arms around her knees. After a moment she looked up at the stars and, for lack of anything better to do, she talked to Gaara.

"I love the stars. It's too bad I don't get to see them often."

He surprised her then by actually answering her, "Why?"

She blinked and then looked at him. His face was expressionless as usual but she could feel the curiosity was coming off of him in light waves. He wanted to know why she wasn't asleep. Then she looked back up at the sky.

"I don't go out at night unless I have too."

He didn't say anything. In his experience if you didn't say anything the other person would fill the silence. What they said might be useless but it would be said. In this case however he was just curious enough to listen. Gaara was right. A moment later Kaoru began to speak again.

"I came home from a friends house back in Kirigakure. You remember that's were I came from originally. My mother had married a ninja from that village and had moved there with him. Both defied their clans to stay married and had me. Anyways, I came home one night and the house was dark. I was only five so that didn't strike me as strange. My friend's mother, who had walked me home at the time, left me on my porch so she could go home. I went inside and for some reason I was...scared. The house was pitch black. I could barely make out what was in front of me. I walked into the living room because there were windows there so the moon lit up the room and saw them. My parents were both there and...they were...dead. I don't remember much of what happened next but some how I ended up at the Mizukage's tower. I stayed there until they decided what to do with me."

"Your father's clan?"

"They didn't want me. His clan never got over the fact that my father married my mother against their wishes. So a letter was sent out to my mother's clan in Suna. The head of the Tsukino clan, my grandmother, sent someone to get me immediately."

"I thought your parents died in a mission."

"Yes, I know. That's what my grandmother told everyone. She didn't want anyone bothering me about it or mentioning it to me."

Gaara processed this information. This hadn't been something she had told him as children and he hadn't asked. A part of him had understood that she hadn't been ready to talk about it.

"So now you're afraid of the dark," he stated.

"Yes. I can't sleep very well at night."

"You slept just fine when..." he trailed off. Up to this point he hadn't even acknowledged that they used to be friends. This was the first time he had brought up the past in any form.

"Only when you were with me," Kaoru said as if he had completed the sentence. Her crimson gaze was trained on him, "You make me feel safe."

She had used present tense he realized dimly. Did that mean he still made her feel safe? That couldn't be. Gaara terrified people. He didn't make anyone feel safe. Hell, his own family was afraid of him. Then again Kaoru had never feared him. Even when everyone else told her what was in him or when she had become old enough to understand what was going on. She had never feared him.

"Go to sleep, Kaoru," he ordered.

"I can't."

He stood up and walked over towards her. Gaara sat down and leaned against a tree that was within reach of Kaoru's spot. He focused his green eyes on her, "Go to sleep."

Kaoru could feel it coming from him. A vague feeling of...protectiveness. That's when she understood what he wasn't saying. It was ok to go to sleep because he would watch over her. She laid down so that she faced Gaara. Her eyes began to drift closed. Subconsciously her hand reached out and grabbed his. Gaara jerked at first because it was the first time anyone had physically touched him in seven years. He glanced down at her and didn't move his hand.

_---Konoha---_

Kaoru was walking around Konoha and getting a good look. She liked it. The place was filled with people who were happy and prosperous. It was around lunch time when she realized she was lost. Kaoru looked around until she noticed a girl with pink hair. She looked extremely pissed off. Behind her was the obvious objects of her anger. Three little kids and a blonde genin. After a moment she decided to speak.

"Umm, excuse me?"

They both turned to look at her. Kaoru was about to say something when one of the kids said something about a big forehead. The girl got very upset and she ran towards them. The blonde and all three kids ran for it. Kaoru stood there for a moment feeling sorry for herself. She started to try to find her way on her own again when she heard a crash coming from the direction the group had run. Then a huge wave of anger coming from a very familiar source. Kaoru started to run in the direction of the anger. The anger was coming from Kankuro and it was because one of the little boys had crashed into him. That poor kid didn't know what he was getting into.

Kaoru caught up to the group and sure enough, Kankuro was holding a kid off the ground by his shirt. Everyone was trying to convince him to let the kid go but he wasn't listening. The blonde attacked him but Kankuro used his puppeteer chakra to throw him backwards.

"Kankuro put him down," Kaoru ordered in fear.

Kankuro was about to hit the kid when a pebble hit his hand forcing him to let the kid go. Everyone looked up and there was a boy sitting there. He was bouncing a pebble on his hand. Then Kankuro began to take out the Crow.

"Kankuro, stop. This is pointless," Kaoru shouted at him. She had walked over and was next to the kid. After making sure that he wasn't seriously injured she stood up and faced Kankuro.

"Why don't you make me, Kaoru? You're a medic not a fighter so back off," Kankuro spat right back. He had reached up and grabbed her arm. He was about to shove her back when something interrupted him.

"Kankuro, back off." Everyone jumped in surprise except for Kaoru. She had felt Gaara's irritation before he had spoken.

Kankuro gave a weak smile, "Hey, Gaara."

"You're an embarrassment to our village. Have you forgotten why we came all the way here?"

"I know...I-I mean they started it."

"Shut up, Kankuro." Gaara then turned to the boy the pink haired girl called Sasuke, "I'm sorry for any trouble he caused."

Something went on in their heads. Kaoru could tell that Gaara was feeling wary of the other ninja in the tree. The black haired boy was feeling just as wary of Gaara. Gaara disappeared in a whirl of sand that traveled down to the ground where Gaara reappeared. He turned to Kankuro who had yet to let go of Kaoru's arm.

"Let go of Kaoru and come on. We didn't come here to play."

Kankuro immediately released Kaoru. She rubbed at her sore arm. Kankuro had a strong grip and she got the feeling he didn't try to keep from bruising her. Gaara noticed the tell tale motion and glanced back at Kankuro. The puppeteer noticed this look and backed away hastily. Luckily for him Kaoru knew Gaara was angry and why.

"Let's go. I'm hungry," Kaoru said affectively distracting everyone.

"Didn't you eat lunch?" Temari asked.

"No, I was lost through lunch."

Gaara looked at her and mentally sighed, "Let's go."

The four of them began to walk away when the pink haired girl told them to wait and give their reason for being in Konoha. Temari answered her with a smirk. It was obvious that they didn't know about the Chunin exams. They started to leave again when the dark haired boy jumped down from the trees and asked Gaara to identify himself. Gaara turned to look back at the boy.

"I am called Sabaku no Gaara. I am curious to know your name as well."

"Sasuke Uchiha."

The two seemed to have a staring contest for a moment before Gaara turned and the sand shinobi left. Once they were back at the hotel suite Kaoru made herself something to eat. Baki looked over at her.

"So are you going to participate in the exams?" he asked her.

Kaoru stilled for an instant before speaking, "I don't think I will."

Everyone paused. Temari was the first one to break the silence, "Why not, Kaoru? You could pass."

"I know but the ninja life was never for me and you know it. I'm a medic. I belong in a hospital."

Baki had been watching Kaoru and saw what very few paid attention to. He knew what buttons to push to get her to do something without seeming to try. The Kazekage ordered him to make sure Kaoru participated so that's what he would have to do. Baki began, "That's understandable. You do realize that you'll never get to go on any missions even as a medic without being at least a chunin, right?"

"I know."

"People you care about and call your friend could be hurt because you weren't allowed to go," Baki stated with a meaningful glance at Gaara.

Kaoru smiled, "I know what you're getting at sensei but no one can hurt him. I won't have to worry."

"Everyone has a weak point, Kaoru. Someone could find his."

Kaoru seemed to consider this for a moment. She could tell that Baki was reluctant to force her to do this but he felt like he had to. Her kekkei genkai allowed her to see the reason behind the feelings. She liked Baki. He was ok as far as the jonin went and he did help her the best he could. She didn't want him to get into trouble with the Kazekage.

"Alright, Baki. I'll participate."

He smiled, "Good."

The other two smiled. Gaara just closed his eyes again. Kankuro patted Kaoru on the back, "Good. We wouldn't want to leave you behind."

Kaoru smiled at him. Sure Kankuro could be a pain but deep down he was a good guy. Temari smiled in the background. She was happy that her friend was going to be joining them, especially beens it looked like she was the only one that had any control over Gaara.

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It was the day of the first test. Kaoru was slightly nervous. If just one member of their team failed the whole team failed. Kaoru was suddenly wishing she hadn't agreed to this. Kaoru was sitting next to Temari. She was also at the end of the table. After Ibiki Morino, the examiner for the test, had finished giving all the rules for the exam they handed out the exams and started the timer.

Kaoru looked at the the test and relaxed. She could answer these with little to no trouble. After finishing the first test she realized that most people shouldn't be able to answer these questions. So that was it. They had to cheat in order to pass. Her eyes landed on Gaara. He was using his sand eye to cheat off of her paper. Kankuro was using Crow to get answers from someone else's test. Temari, like Kaoru, would be able to answer the questions without any trouble. Needless to say, they got out of that exam with flying colors.

The second exam was different. They were going into someplace called the Forest of Death. They had to read and sign a form that would keep the examiners for being responsible for their deaths. Now if that wasn't reassuring Kaoru didn't know what was. The examiner gave them a brief description of the test. It was a basic survival test and it was an everything goes kind of battle. Each team has to collect two different scrolls, a heaven and earth scroll, and they had to do all this in five days.

Kaoru sat down next to Sakura Haruno. Over the last few days the two girls had become good friends. They talked about the consent form and even about their teammates. Though it was an unspoken rule that they wouldn't discuss their techniques or strategies with each other. Sakura had told Kaoru about her feelings for Sasuke and Kaoru believed that what her friend felt was the real thing. She just hoped Sasuke didn't hurt the pink haired kunoichi. That boy had serious issues. They were almost as bad as Gaara's.

After a while the two of them went to their separate teams. Sakura watched her friend go. She wondered if Kaoru realized that she was in love with Gaara. Sakura didn't need the Tsukino clan's kekkei genkai to see it. It was in Kaoru's voice and expression when she talked about him. She figured her friend would realize it soon enough if she hadn't already.

Kaoru was walked up to her team. Gaara handed her their scroll. It was an earth scroll. She gave them a curious look. Kaoru wasn't sure why they were handing it to her. She probably wouldn't do any of the fighting.

"You'll look after it," was all Gaara said before walking towards their gate. Kaoru blinked then looked over at Temari.

"I guess beens you won't be fighting much the scroll is safer with you," her friend answered the unspoken question.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Kaoru whispered. Her voice was shaking slightly. This was definitely not going to be her strong point. She just wasn't cut out for fighting. Oh well, she had to now, for her team.

Kankuro put a hand on her shoulder, "Look, I know I haven't been the nicest person in the world to you but believe me when I say, you'll be just fine. We'll look after you."

"He's right," Temari agreed.

She smiled at them, "Thanks, you guys."

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A few hours later they were standing in the middle of a clearing. There was another team standing across from them from the village hidden in the rain. They were all upset because a couple of rookies wanted to fight them head on. At first Kankuro tried to talk Gaara out of fighting until they knew what kind of scroll they had but Gaara didn't want to listen to him. When that didn't work Temari and Kankuro both tried to warn the other ninjas not to mess with Gaara but they hadn't listened. Kaoru closed her eyes when Gaara killed the first one.

The other two started begging for their lives and even placed the scroll on the ground. They backed away and continued to beg for their lives. Kaoru thought that the battle was over. She glanced and Temari who nodded. Then Kaoru walked forward to get the other scroll. At first nothing happened. She reached the scroll without any problems. The instincts that Baki had spent the last year drilling into her suddenly kicked in but they were a moment too late.

"Kaoru!" Temari and Kankuro shouted her name but they were also a second too late in warning.

The two ninja from the rain village had attacked her. She looked up and saw it coming but she didn't have time to dodge it. She closed her eyes in preparation for the pain and possibly death. Neither came. When she risked cracking an eye open both of them shot open and she gasped. In front of her was a wall of sand. Gaara had saved her. She looked back at him. Crimson met sea green. His face held no expression but she felt a sudden wave of pure rage roll off of him. She quickly grabbed the scroll and ran back to him.

Gaara didn't even realize that his sand had protected her until after the fact. He hadn't even had time to will it to save her. It acted on its own. What the hell? That wasn't suppose to happen. Then it hit him. Someone had dared to attack her. They had tried to kill her. The rage swept through him. They would pay.

Kaoru reached his side. He was still pissed off at them for attacking her. What she didn't understand was why he cared. Sure she knew why he was angry but she didn't know why that made him angry. She reached out and placed a hand on his arm.

"They will pay," he whispered almost to himself. Kaoru gasped but no one had time to react before Gaara had the other two ninja and killed them.

Kankuro yawned, "Good now we can get out of this forest."

"No," Gaara said.

That made him and Gaara got into a fight over whether they should leave or not. For the first time Kankuro pulled the big brother card. Temari decided to jump in and she also used the sister card. For a moment they didn't think it was going to work. In fact they were terrified that Gaara was about to harm Kankuro.

Kaoru touched Gaara's arm again and said quietly, "Gaara, please. Let's go."

The sand had gathered in his hand. His eyes met hers and neither looked away. He clenched his fist and everyone but Kaoru gasped. Next think they knew Gaara was corking his gourd.

"Alright this time," Gaara conceded.

They all began to walk away. Temari walked up beside Kaoru, "It's a good thing you decided to come with us, Kaoru."

Kaoru's eyes widened, "What makes you say that?"

"If you weren't here today Kankuro would be a goner right now."

"No he wouldn't be. Gaara would never kill his own brother," the medic disagreed.

"I wish I had the same faith in him that you do. Gaara is a..."

Kaoru interrupted, "Don't you dare say it."

Temari's eyes widened. She had never heard Kaoru use that tone before. She was always so meek and quiet and here she was actually sounding angry.

"He's not a monster and he wouldn't have harmed Kankuro or you," Kaoru said stubbornly.

Kankuro and Temari looked at her. Neither believed her. Like everyone else they believed that Gaara was a monster. As far as they could see, Kaoru had been the only one safe from him. Even before she joined their team Gaara went out of his way to avoid the medical nin from his past.

Kaoru glared back at them, "Are you two coming or what?"

They ran to catch up with her and Gaara. None of them noticed that Gaara had heard every word of their conversation. Now he had two questions. Why did his sand protect Kaoru of its own accord and why did she defend him so much?

"_Has it occurred to you that maybe she cares about you, boy?" Shukaku asked Gaara._

'Shut up. She doesn't care. Nobody does,' Gaara responded.

"_Not only blind but stupid too. If she doesn't care then why does she defend you and how come you make her feel safe, hmm?"_

Gaara didn't have the answers to these question but he intended to find them.

"_And about the sand shield. It is also partly connected to your will even though it acts before you even think to will it."_

'What do you mean?'

"_It's simple really. Your subconscious partly controls the sand. That means that it knows what you want even before you do. Some part of you wanted to save her so it did."_

Gaara didn't have anything to say to that. What did you say when you found out that some part of you cared about someone you thought you forgot long ago? That raccoon had to be lying to him, didn't it? He couldn't possible care about Kaoru. He hadn't even spoken to her in seven years. Yet here he was protecting her. Maybe it was time to consider that she still mattered a little bit.

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There it is. The first part of the Chunin Exams. I hope you guys liked it. now if you'll please just review i can get started on the next chapter. 


	5. The End of the Chunin Exams

I'm on a roll with this story. I hope you guys are enjoying it. Anyways I'll let you get to the what you really want to read.

Disclaimer: I don't really own Naruto...I just wish I did

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**Ch. 4: The End of the Chunin Exams**

Kaoru relaxed the best she could. They had been trying to train for the preliminary exams. Everyone was concentrating on the one called Sasuke Uchiha. Kaoru could feel something different about him but she wasn't sure what it was. She had a feeling it had something to do with his left shoulder because he kept grabbing it. Kaoru shook her head. That boy had serious emotional issues. He was always angry for one reason or another. She didn't know what was going on with him but she did know he believed he had reason to keep everyone at a distance.

Sakura was really worried about him. She spoke to Kaoru about it. The medic sat there for a moment and considered what to do. She told Sakura that she would try to talk to him but she wasn't going to make any garuntees that he would listen. Sakura nodded then started trying to convince him to quit but he wasn't going to. The argument would have continued but then Kabuto decided to quit. Kaoru's crimson eyes followed his movements. There was something about him. He wasn't feeling what he showed everyone. That wouldn't have been so unusual except he did it all the time. His reasons were also very complicated and involved. It took her quite sometime to sort through his emotions and the reasons behind them. Kabuto left and the argument between Sasuke and Sakura continued. Sakura was on the losing end..

Kaoru walked up with Gaara and them. She briefly wondered if she should back out but she decided against it. The medic figured she's made it this far so she might as well finish it. Kaoru found the whole thing fascinating and terrifying. Sasuke won her fight of course. But something happened. He developed marks on his body and she could feel his emotions boiling over. Then her match came and it was with one of the sound ninja. Kaoru gulped. This wasn't her thing and she was deathly afraid she would let her team down.

The two met in the arena. Temari looked over at Kankuro, "Do you think she'll be alright? She's only been training for this sort of thing for about a year."

Baki decided to answer this, "As far as skill goes she'll be fine. Remember she's had medical ninjutsu training and that can be used in offensive and defensive. However it's not her skill that worries me."

"What does worry you then?" Kankuro asked.

"Her temperament. Kaoru isn't a fighter. She's told us that countless times and it's the truth. I'm worried that she won't give it her all and that will make her fail. She has the skill just not the desire."

They watched their teammate in the ring and worried. Well, except Gaara. He knew that she would try. She may not like fighting but Kaoru didn't like to disappoint people either. She knew if she lost they would be very disappointed.

Kaoru looked at her opponent. It was a girl about a year older than she was. The sound nin smirked at her, "Well this will be a quick battle. And here I was hoping for a challenge."

Kaoru didn't respond. It was a waste of breath and time to bother. She got into a fighting stance and waited. The proctor told them to begin. The sound nin moved first. Kaoru just barely managed to dodge the attack but then the sound nin appeared right in front of Kaoru and punched her hard. She just barely had time to land on her feet and crouch so she wouldn't fall backwards. The force behind the blow caused her to slid backwards a few feet. 'What the hell?' she demanded to herself. 'How did she get there?' Her opponent attacked again. This time Kaoru dodged then hit the girl but her hand went right through her. The girl smirked then vanished. She reappeared behind Kaoru and attacked. Kaoru barely dodged and put plenty of distance between her and the sound nin. When she looked back she frowned. There were two sound nins now.

Both were smirking and they spoke together, "Do you like my ability? I manipulate the sound waves so that you think there's another me. It's not exactly a clone because it's your imagination. Did you know that part of you sight is based on sound. Well my double is tricking your brain into seeing two of me."

Kaoru smiled as that answered all her questions. This was why she never told anyone about her abilities. Once you understand a strategy or power you could counter it. Kaoru got back into a fighting stance but this time she closed her eyes. In fact, she turned off all her senses but one. Her kekkei genkai was her sight right now. Every emotion in the room filtered through her until she found the one she sought. Her opponent was feeling smug because she was so sure she had outsmarted Kaoru. Kaoru focused on her emotions. When she was sure she was locked onto the sound nin her crimson eyes snapped open.

The girls attacked. Kaoru dodged the real one and then hit her. The girl went flying across the battle arena. Kaoru went after her performing some hand signs on her way. The medic reappeared right behind her. The sound nin tried to dodge but when she jumped Kaoru touched just one spot on her leg. Then stood aside. The girl landed then collapsed.

"My leg. I can't stand. What did you do to me?" she shouted at Kaoru.

Kaoru just smiled. The proctor looked at the girl sitting on the ground, "Are you still able to fight?"

"No. I can't even stand anymore."

"Then the winner is Kaoru Tsukino."

"Now will you tell me how you did it?" the sound nin asked.

"I'm from the Tsukino clan in Suna."

"That's suppose to mean something?"

"My clan has it's own kekkei genkai. We have magical empathy," Kaoru said with a smile. "A figment of my imagination can't have feelings so I could tell which one was real. As for your leg. I'm a medical nin."

Kaoru turned and started to walk away but then stopped. Mentally she cursed her conscious as she turned back around and knelt beside the sound nin. Placing her hands on the injured leg she summoned her healing chakra. After a moment the girl could stand again. This time Kaoru didn't even look back as she headed back to her team.

"That was a very good job, Kaoru," Temari said.

"I didn't know you had it in you," Kankuro commented.

Kaoru smiled, "I didn't either. For a moment I was afraid I couldn't win but she handed me the key on a silver platter."

Gaara watched them. Kaoru was always happy when she managed to do something right. She lived to make those who mattered to her smile. And as the sound nin found out, it was always a mistake to underestimate her. All in all their team was doing well. Temari, Kankuro, and Kaoru all won their fights. There were only two people left to fight. Gaara and a boy from the leaf village named Rock Lee. They both met in the ring. At first, Gaara started out just fine. Which is just what they had expected him to do.

"Be careful, Gaara. This ones different," Kaoru whispered.

The fight was still going. Then the boy had removed some weights on his legs. Suddenly he could move at the speed of light. Gaara just barely managed to block the attacks but Rock Lee managed to get in several blows. Then Rock Lee kicked him into the air and then they spiraled down to the ground. Kaoru was deathly afraid Gaara hadn't survived. Then they found out that the thing that Lee had attacked had been a sand clone. The real Gaara showed up and began to attack the poor leaf genin mercilessly. Kaoru winced in pain for Rock Lee. Then suddenly the boy smiled. Kaoru's eyes widened. He was still so sure he could win because he still had a trump card. Rock Lee began to use it. After it became obvious that Gaara wouldn't be able to defend himself, Kaoru whispered in fear, "Gaara."

When Rock Lee slammed Gaara into the ground the sand nin used the gourd on his back to cushion his fall. Then Gaara went after Lee with his sand breaking his arm and leg. He was about to use the sand coffin and kill the poor boy. The fear that Kaoru felt for Gaara changed the minute she felt his murderous intent.

"Don't do it, Gaara!!!" Kaoru shouted.

Guy jumped in and stopped it. Everyone believed that Guy had been the one to stop the attack. Only Guy and Gaara knew that it hadn't been Guy that stopped Gaara's attack. Guy had felt that the attack wouldn't have harmed Lee. It had slowed and had begun to pull back by the time he had stepped in. Gaara looked up at Kaoru. Her voice had reached him when nothing else had. She had been the one that had stopped the attack seconds before Guy showed up. Why? What made her voice penetrate his mind? His sea green eyes focused on Guy. And why did he want to protect the leaf genin. He had lost. Shouldn't the jonin just let him suffer the consequenses.

Kaoru sensed his confusion. Gaara didn't understand why Guy wanted to protect Lee. Lee had lost so Guy should have let him die. The sand nin also didn't understand something else but for some reason Kaoru couldn't tell the reason. That meant it was directed towards her. She wondered what it was.

After the preliminaries were over they all left to rest and train for the primary exam. Well Kaoru, Temari, and Kankuro all trained. Gaara didn't train for anything. A few days after they had returned home Kaoru was standing in the middle of Yuri's office. The head of the medical nins in Suna looked at Kaoru.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm positive."

"Alright then. Take the week off. Will you tell me what you're going to do with this vacation?"

"Personal thing. I made a promise and I need to keep it," Kaoru explained.

Kaoru left the hospital and wanted to take care of one last thing before she left to take care of business. She ran off for the Kazekage's tower. Decided it was probably best to avoid the Kage himself she jumped straight to the balcony attached to the room she wanted to be in. After knocking on the door it opened to reveal the red head that she had come here to see.

"Hey Gaara. I just came to say bye. I'm going on vacation for a few days. I have something that I need to take care of. I'll be back after I've finished it," Kaoru stated.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you want to tell me bye?" he asked.

Kaoru tilted her head, "Because I wanted to."

"But why?"

She smiled, "Because you matter and I didn't want to just leave. It's what you do when you care about someone."

"You don't care."

Now she was frowning. She stepped forward and did something few were brave enough to even think about. She hugged him. Gaara froze. He didn't know how to react or even if he should.

"Don't you dare think that. I care about you. I've always cared about you, Gaara. One day you'll believe me." She pulled back and smiled again, "I've got to go now."

"What do you need to take care of?"

"I made a promise to Sakura. I'm going to go keep it. I've never broken a promise and I don't intend to start now. See ya soon, my friend."

Gaara watched her walk away. _See ya soon, my friend._ She had called him her friend. _I'm your friend and I always will be._ He remembered that promise Kaoru had made all those years ago. They had been five but Kaoru showed him everyday that she hadn't forgotten. He shook his head to get rid of the thoughts. What was the point? She didn't care.

_----With Sasuke and Kakashi----_

It was a few days later when Kaoru arrived in the area that Kakashi and Sasuke were training at. They looked at her with curiosity. She smiled and walked up to them with her hands up to show she didn't want to fight. Her tone was hesitant when she spoke, "I need to speak with Sasuke. If that's alright."

Kakashi nodded. Kaoru had proven to be a decent person. He didn't think she would do anything underhanded and even if she did Sasuke could take care of himself. Kakashi left to let them talk about whatever it was she came here for. She sat down on the ground and motioned for Sasuke to do the same. Sasuke was just curious enough to cooperate. Kaoru smiled.

"I wanted to ask you what you plan to do," Kaoru asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you intend to join Orochimaru like everyone fears or are you going to stay like you know you should?"

His eyes closed off, "That's not any of your business."

"You're right."

His eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected her to agree with him. Curiosity had him asking, "So why are you asking?"

"Because I promised I would," she responded.

"What difference does it make whether I choose to stay or leave?"

"If you really have to ask that then you are an idiot."

"Answer me anyway."

There was a sad look in her eyes when she answered, "Because it'll affect more than just you. It'll affect everyone who cares about you. Every decision you make affects anyone that cares about you even a little bit."

He looked away. She knew then that he was really considering the decision to join Orochimaru. She stood up and turned to begin to leave, "Tell me, Sasuke Uchiha, do you know what makes a person strong?"

"Power and the ability to block emotions."

"No, that's not what the right answer."

"What is then?" he said with a smirk. He thought he knew what her answer was. It probably something along the lines of love and friendship. That's what everyone else kept telling him.

Kaoru gave him a small smile, "Maybe I'll tell you one day but you're not listening right now. I'll see you later Sasuke Uchiha. Take care."

With that she left. Sasuke remained where he was staring at nothing. She had been trying to tell him something. He wondered what it was. Part of him knew it was important to his decision. _Do you know what makes a person strong?_ She had thought he was wrong and that he wasn't listening. She was probably right. Would he be sitting here thinking about it if she had just told him? Of course he wouldn't be. Sasuke stood up to continue his training and thing about that question. _Tell me, Sasuke Uchiha, do you know what makes a person strong?_

_----Back at Konoha---_

They had arrived for the primary battles. Everyone was very excited about it. Kaoru spent the first day back in Konoha with Sakura. The two of them talked about how their break had gone. Kaoru chose not to tell Sakura about her conversation with Sasuke. For the moment she didn't think Sakura needed to worry about it.

They all watched the first few battles. Naruto fought with Neji and had won. It was a big deal. Neji had spent his entire life believing in destiny and here came Naruto to throw a monkey wrench into his theory. That didn't surprise Kaoru. Naruto had that affect on everyone he met. Then Temari fought with that Shikamaru guy and they called it a draw. It was interesting seeing someone that was able to out wit Temari.

Then the fight between Gaara and Sasuke started. Gaara wasn't doing so well. Sasuke managed to get into the shield of sand that Gaara had surrounded himself with. Kaoru felt a large wave a pain and confusion coming from the sand ball. She could have sworn that she heard him scream in pain.

"Gaara," she whispered in fear.

The sand melted away. Then all hell broke loose. There were explosions and shouts. Someone performed a genjutsu to put everyone to sleep. The jonin and chunin used their power to keep from falling pray to it. Kaoru looked around in confusion. What in the world was going on? She looked over at the rest of her team and then saw it. They knew what was going on. How come nobody had warned her that something was going to happen?

"What is going on you guys," she asked her team.

"We're attacking Konoha," Baki responded.

Kaoru's eyes widened in surprise, "What?! I feel I've been denied needful and valueable information."

"We're sorry Kaoru. The Kazekage ordered us not to tell you because you would have warned them," Temari said.

"He was right. This is wrong you guys. They haven't done anything to us. Why in the hell would you want to do this?"

They didn't get a chance to answer because Gaara made a sound as if he were in great pain. Kaoru looked back down at the arena and ran down to Gaara. Something was seriously wrong with him. She placed a hand on his arm and then he pushed her away. She hid the hurt. This wasn't the first time he had pushed her away but this time she wasn't a five year old girl. This time she was a 12 year old trained medical nin. Gaara was hurt and needed treatment but first they had to get him out of there. Then she could clobber her team for keeping a very important secret from her. For now however there was no time for feeling hurt because he was still pushing her away.

Kankuro picked Gaara up and they all ran except for Baki. He stayed behind to keep anyone from following them. After a while Sasuke Uchiha caught up to them. Gaara had woken up. The two started fighting. Just when it looked like Sasuke was about to die Naruto and Sakura showed up and saved him. That started the fight between Gaara and Naruto.

Kaoru jumped over to where Sasuke stood, "Do you see it?"

"See what?"

"The answer."

Sasuke looked back to the fight. He considered what she said. _Tell me, Sasuke Uchiha, do you know what makes a person strong? _Naruto's strength just seem to have grown five times what it was originally. Sasuke looked back at Kaoru.

"I think I see it but tell me anyway."

She looked at him in consideration then said, "It's your friends and family. When people are protecting someone important to them they become infinitely strong. That is human nature. If you want more strength then hold on tight to those that matter. They'll be your source of power when it matters most."

The two boys that had been fighting were falling. Kaoru's crimson gaze followed Gaara's path to make sure nothing would give him more than a bruise. Sasuke ran and caught Sakura before she fell. Both of them ran to their friends when they hit the ground. Both of them heard every word said between Gaara and Naruto. Karou felt pain in her heart for the two misfits.

"No one should have to know what it feels like to be hated for something beyond their control," Kaoru whispered to no one in particular.

Sasuke couldn't help but agree with her. He'd never realized just how much Naruto had been suffering before. Knowing this explained a lot about the knucklehead's personality. He glanced over and Kaoru and saw she was crying. She rushed out to Gaara's side.

"You stupid idiot. Do you realize how scared I was?" she whispered.

_Every decision you make affects those that care about you._ He shook his head. Why the hell was he thinking about this? It wasn't important. Koaru looked up at Sasuke with tear filled crimson eyes. He knew then what she had meant. If it hurt you then it hurt those that cared even if they never receive a scratch because you were hurt.

Temari and Kankuro jumped down to defend Gaara and Kaoru but Gaara didn't want them to, "That's enough. It's over."

"But Gaara," Kankuro started. After a moment he changed whatever it was he was going to say to, "Alright, Gaara."

The four of them headed back to Suna. Just before Gaara passed out he apologized to Temari and Kankuro. The three other sand nins exchanged looks. None of them was sure what to make of the apology from Gaara.

They arrived in Suna a few hours later. Kankuro took Gaara straight to the hospital because Kaoru threatened him within an inch of his life if he didn't. That's were they ran into a problem. None of the medical nin would help Gaara. That pissed Kaoru off. She asked for Yuri but her teacher was in surgery and couldn't be spared right then. So Kaoru demanded a room a bed and everything she would need to treat Gaara herself. Temari and Kankuro both backed away from her. The other medics had done the impossible. They had managed to piss Kaoru off. Several of the hospital workers received bruises for daring to argue with their angry friend.

After a few hours later Gaara was settled in a hospital room. Kaoru had healed every single one of his injuries. Gaara slept through all of it. Kankuro made Kaoru sit down on the edge of the bed, "Rest Kaoru. You've done enough. He'll be fine now."

Kaoru said sleepily, "I know. Don't let anyone else in the room, Kankuro. I don't trust them near Gaara."

"Alright. We'll see to it. Now go to sleep."

Kaoru laid down on the bed beside Gaara and obeyed Kankuro's orders and fell fast asleep. Her last thoughts were of Gaara. She hoped that she had taken care of all his injuries.

* * *

Alright that's it. Now believe it or not you're not finished yt. You still have to reveiw and tell me you like it or give me some constructive criticism. Even better both. 


	6. Choices

Alright this chapter focuses more on the Sasuke thing. I decided to put that in here because I wanted to do something different with it. The first part of it is word for word from the anime as far as what they say goes but then I put a twist on things. I like doing that.

Disclaimer: See other chapters because I'm tired of repeating myself**  
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**Ch. 5: Choices**

Gaara woke up the next day and at first he had no idea where he was. As he got his bearing he noticed something warm pressed against him. He looked down and saw her. Kaoru was still sound asleep and snuggled against him. She had wrapped an arm around his waist. If Gaara had looked in the mirror he wouldn't have recognized the look in his eyes. For the first time in years there was a soft warm look in them as he gazed at the girl sleeping beside him. He carefully got up so that he wouldn't wake her.

Kaoru woke up and saw him standing by the window. She stood up and walked over to him. Thousands of emotions stormed through her at that moment. Gaara turned and looked at her. Her first reaction surprised them both. She hit him.

"You idiot. Do you know how scared I was? Why the hell didn't you tell me that you were going to attack then at least I would have been ready? When you let Shukaku out I had been terrified that I had lost you. Don't you ever scare me like that again or I swear I'll kill you myself and save myself the heartache," she shouted while hitting his chest. Tears streamed down her face.

Gaara let her hit him. When he saw her tears he surprised himself by wrapping his arms around her. She calmed down after a few minutes. She backed up with a sniffle, "I'm sorry, Gaara."

He just shook his head. She smiled at him, "But I really will kill you if you ever scare me like that again."

He merely raised an eyebrow. Kaoru found herself chuckling at the look on his face. Gaara definitely didn't believe that she could or would kill him. Hell, he was probably right. She cared about him too much. Kaoru walked over to the bags she saw on the table. There were clothes for both of them inside. She took the bag with her stuff into the bathroom and took a shower. After she was finished she made Gaara go into the bathroom for his own shower.

After both of them were clean Kaoru dragged Gaara out to eat. He didn't complain because he was hungry anyway. Besides, he needed to think about a few things and it was easier to do if he let Kaoru lead him around. When they arrived at the restaurant Temari and Kankuro were both there. They smiled and waved them both over. Gaara felt something new inside him. He wasn't sure what it was but he felt comfortable for the first time in his life.

Kaoru looked at her friend with a smile. He actually felt content. She sat down and dragged Gaara to sit down next to her. Temari, Kankuro, and Kaoru talked about their plans now. Kaoru decided to return to hospital duty. That didn't surprise anyone. Kaoru got up to leave and Gaara got up and followed her out. He had something to talk to her about now.

When they got outside the restaurant Gaara tapped her shoulder gently. She glanced at him with a curious stare. He motioned for her to follow him and she did. Gaara led her to the cliff she always liked to sit on when she was upset. The sun was setting and you could see Suna spreading out beneath them. He stood at the edge of the cliff facing Suna. His arms were crossed and his back was to her. Kaoru's crimson eyes were focused on his back.

"What is it, Gaara?" she asked him.

He didn't turn around, "I was wrong."

She blinked, "About what?"

"I want to be the Kazekage."

"What? But, Gaara, you know as well as I do the village won't accept that."

"I'll prove myself to them. Kaoru, I've finally realized something. I'm a person. Not a weapon or a monster."

"I could have told you that," she stated.

"You did tell me that. I will prove that you're right. I will work hard to be acknowledged by others. Even if they don't want to acknowledge me."

"It won't be easy, Gaara," she commented.

"I know. I'll need Temari's and Kankuro's support."

"They'll give it to you without hesitation," Kaoru stated.

"Good." Now Gaara turned to face her. His face was serious and sea green eyes bore into her. His tone was fierce, "I need you too."

She blinked again, "What?"

"Your support is the most important of them all."

"Why me?"

"Because you cared long before anyone else even considered it. You were my friend even when I was doing my best to keep you away. You haven't changed your mind about that have you?"

Kaoru was trying to process everything he had just said. She took so long to answer that he got worried that she really had changed her mind about being his friend. He felt a twinge of fear race through him.

"I need you, Kaoru."

Kaoru felt the twinge of worry and quickly reassured him, "Don't worry Gaara. I'm not going anywhere either."

Gaara gave her his first real smile in years. It was small but still a smile. Kaoru's eyes widened in surprise then she smiled at him. The two of them looked down at Suna then returned to their respective homes. The next day Kaoru headed to Konoha. She was going to stay the night with Sakura. Naruto was worried about his friend and had asked the Suna medical-nin for help. So Kaoru left for the Leaf Village to help her friend.

_----In Konoha----_

By this point in Konoha, the Akatsuki had already tried and failed to capture Naruto. Itachi and Sasuke had fought and of course Sasuke lost. Jiraiya had to come and save them both from the two S ranked ninja. Sasuke had not been happy. It was now everyone's greatest fear that he would run off and join Orochimaru just to gain power.

Sasuke was walking through Konoha. He was deep in thought which was odd. His mind should be clear now that he had come to a decision. The Uchiha was leaving Konoha. Orochimaru could make him stronger and that's what he wanted. The thing was he couldn't get that question out of his head. _Tell me, Sasuke Uchiha, do you know what makes a person strong? _He shook his head. This was pointless. He'd made his choice and he wouldn't change his mind now.

Suddenly Sakura came out from behind a tree. He spoke calmly, as if he wasn't planning on leaving, "What are you doing out so late? Just out for a stroll."

She looked him in the eyes, "In order to leave the village, you have to take this road."

Sasuke started to just walk around her and told her to go back home. At first she didn't say anything. Then silent tears began to fall down her face and she asked him why he shut everyone out. He stopped walking and answered her question with one of his own. "Why do I have to tell you? You meddle too much. Stop bothering me all the time."

Sakura did something odd then. She smiled as the tears continued to fall, "You always act like you hate me, Sasuke-kun. Do you remember when we became genin? The day the three-man teams were decided, and we were alone at this very spot. You were very angry with me, weren't you?"

He pretended like he didn't remember. The truth was he didn't want to remember. Why bother? It would just give her hope that he would stay and he didn't plan on it. She told him that it was alright because it had been a long time ago. She commented on how the friendship between him, her, Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei had started that day though. She talked about how difficult the missions had been but it had been fun too.

Then her smile faded, "But with revenge alone, you will not be able to make anyone happy." His back was still to her when she admitted to knowing what happen to his clan. She didn't see the flash of pain in his eyes. She continued to speak, "No one...neither you...nor me..."

"I know that. I'm different from you guys and I follow a different path," his tone was calm. "The four of us together...It's true that I have thought of that as one possible path. Despite the four of us having been together, my heart has chosen revenge. That's what I live for. I can't be like you or Naruto."

"Aren't you going to be lonely by yourself?" she demanded. "Sasuke-kun, you told me that being alone is painful! I know that very well, so much that it hurts! I have family and friends. But...If you leave, for me...To me, it's the same thing as being alone!"

This time something else came into Sasuke's head. He kept seeing the picture of their team together. He spoke to convince himself as much as her, "From this point on, new paths will start."

Sakura wouldn't hear it, "I...I love you more than anything! If you are by my side, I'll make sure that you won't regret it. I'll make every day more enjoyable, and you'll be happy! I would do anything for you! That's why...I beg you! Please stay here! I'll even help you with your revenge! There must be something I can do! That's why...please, stay here with me...If that's not possible...please take me with you..."

_Because it'll affect more than just you. It'll affect everyone who cares about you. _Kaoru's words ran through his head right then. He narrowed his eyes and looked back at her, "After all this, you're still annoying."

He turned and started to walk away again. She shouted at him, "Don't go!" She ran forward a few steps then continued, "If you go, I'll scream out loud and..."

Sasuke vanished. She knew where he was and didn't bother turning around to face him. _Because it'll affect more than just you. It'll affect everyone who cares about you. _Sasuke spoke then, "Sakura, thank you."

Then he knocked her out. When she fell he caught her then placed her gently on the stone bench. At first he was just going to walk away but he couldn't. Kaoru's words kept circling around and around in his head as he stared at Sakura's tear stained face. _Because it'll affect more than just you. Tell me, Sasuke Uchiha, do you know what makes a person strong?_ He frowned and turned away from the bench but he didn't move any further. Across from him stood Kaoru. She had been there to stay the night with Sakura. When Sakura had left Kaoru had followed her. She had heard everything.

"So you did decide to leave," she commented.

"Why does it matter to you?"

"I'm not going to let you just walk away and don't think of doing what you did to Sakura. I'm not in love with you so I will hurt you."

"Like you could."

"Would you like to test that theory?" she asked him sweetly.

"This isn't like you. You're normally very...meek."

"I know. I get this way when my friends are hurt."

"Why won't you just let me go?"

"Why should I?" she returned.

"I have to avenge my clan no matter what."

"So why can't you do that here?"

"They make me soft. I won't get stronger here," he replied in frustration.

"Of course you will, Sasuke. You're just impatient."

"Look, Kaoru, get out of my way."

"Hear me out first, Sasuke. If you still want to leave when I'm finished I'll let you leave without a fight."

He considered for a moment then relaxed, "Go ahead. I'm listening."

Kaoru didn't waste anytime, "Do you think this is what you're clan would want? Do you honestly think they would want you to betray everyone that matters to you? This is not the life they intended for you to live. No parent would wish the path you've chosen for their children."

He couldn't meet her eyes now but he still wasn't convinced. Kaoru walked up to him and made him look into her blood red eyes, "Well, Sasuke? Do you think that this is what makes you strong? Becoming the very thing you hate?"

"What do you mean by that?" he asked in a dangerous tone.

Kaoru wasn't affected. He was nothing compared to Gaara. She glared right back at him and said, "You're becoming your brother. Leaving you're village and becoming a missing nin. Hurting everyone that cares about you. Not to mention joining the bad guys. The only thing left is to kill your best friend. I guess we should keep a close eye on Naruto, huh?"

Sasuke looked away again. Kaoru turned her back to him but said one last thing over her shoulder as she walked away. Her voice was like a whip, "You're parents would be ashamed of you, especially your father. From what I've heard, Fugaku Uchiha was a very honorable and loyal man. Tell me, Sasuke Uchiha, do you really want this path because once you step onto it you can never turn back? What will you do once you've obtained your revenge and there's no where for you to go? I'll tell you what you'll do. You'll look in the mirror and see Itachi looking back at you then you'll die."

She left him there. Kaoru didn't want to but she had made a deal with him. Now it was up to him. She just prayed that she wasn't putting to much faith in him. But what could she do? The only person who could stop Sasuke was Sasuke. He had to make this choice. All she could do was shove the cold hard truth in his face and hope it was ugly enough to him that he would stay. There was the chance he wouldn't think so or that he would just ignore what she said. Then again he could surprise her and stay after all. She would just have to wait and pray.

Sasuke stood there after she had left. What was he suppose to do? He could continue on his way. Part of him screamed for him to do just that. Ignore what Kaoru had said and keep going. What did she know anyway? Then another part of him couldn't ignore the facts. She was right. His father would have been ashamed of him. Fugaku Uchiha had even told him not to follow Itachi's path a few days before he died. It had also been the same day that his father had acknowledged Sasuke as his son.

Sasuke started to walk. He had just reached the gate to the village when he suddenly stopped. The things everyone had said to him ran through his head. "_If you rely on the curse mark then you're development will stop here and you'll never beat Itachi._""_If you want to beat me then you'll have to get stronger._""_You're becoming your brother._""_I love you more than anything.__ Please stay with me._""_Fugaku Uchiha was a very honorable and loyal man.__ What will you do when you've obtained your revenge? You'll look in the mirror and see Itachi looking back at you._""_Foolish brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life. _

His head jerked up and a determined light came into his eyes. He spun around and ran back the way he came. When he reached the park he stopped at the bench. Sakura was still there and unconscious. Carefully he picked her up bridal style and went to his clan's compound. He placed her on his bed and then sat in the window sill. Millions of thoughts ran through his head but one was the loudest. 'I will become stronger but I won't become Itachi. Just watch, Itachi, one day I'll be stronger than you and won't have to become a missing nin to do it. And I'll do it just to spite you.'

Hidden in the shadows a pair of blood red eyes smiled. Maybe the boy didn't have such a thick skull after all. Kaoru turned and headed back to Suna. She was done here. Sakura would be fine now. At least, she better be. Of course, she could always come back and kick Sasuke's ass if he had a backslide. Yeah, she could just do that. For now she wanted to get back to Gaara. Tomorrow he would start his mission to prove to everyone that he wasn't a monster. She had to be there to support him.

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I know that's not how it happened but it's my story and I was never happy with him leaving so I don't like to make him leave in my stories if I can help it. Anyways I hope you liked this chapter.

Now remember I update faster if I get lots of reviews. hint hint. for those of you not getting the hint I want you to review.


	7. A New Start

Here's the update for this story ya'll. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: i no own naruto and no matter how many times i wish on that damn star i'll never own naruto

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**Ch. 6: A New Start**

Team Baki all stood in the council's room. The council men were extremely surprised by the request Gaara made. All of them looked from Temari to Kankuro to Kaoru and finally to Gaara. Temari wore her usual white mid thigh dress with her fan strapped to her back using the red sash around her waist. She had her usual hair style and her headband around her neck. Kankuro also wore his usual clothes and face paint but instead of a fan, crow was strapped to his back. Kaoru wore a dress the same style as Temari's except it was blue with a white sash around her waist and she didn't have anything strapped to her back. Her head band was in her hair and to black locks of hair framed her face (A/N: like Sakura's hair only a blue black color). Gaara wore the same style clothes he always had except they were the same color as Kaoru's eyes. The council focused on him.

"Are you sure about this, Gaara?" one of them asked.

"Yes."

Yuri, who was on the council as chief medical nin, looked at Kaoru, "Does he really know what he's doing?"

Kaoru looked Yuri in the eyes, "Yes, he does."

"You know that the other's won't accept you. They'll either make life miserable for you or be too afraid to ask for anything," one of the other's said to Gaara.

"I know," Gaara responded.

"Even if you're a jonin now you'll have to take it without complaint."

"I know."

They talked amongst themselves for a moment. Gaara had come there to ask to be assigned with different teams. He knew they wouldn't like it but he had to make them get use to him as he was now. That meant being around them. The problem was no one other than his team would be around him voluntarily. So they had to make them put up with him. The best way to do that was to stick him on missions with random teams. Kankuro, Temari, and Kaoru were worried about him doing this but they didn't fight him. They had promised him support and he was right. This was the best way to start.

"Alright, Gaara. We'll start assigning you with other teams provided that you don't kill them just because they are breathing."

Kaoru glared at the councilman that had said that. Gaara, however, showed no reaction other than a nod of his head to show his agreement. They left the meeting room a little while later. Gaara was holding the information for his first mission in his hand. Kaoru looked at him worriedly. He caught her look and raised an eyebrow at her. She sighed, "Gaara-kun, I'm worried. You know the reaction they're going to have. First they'll be afraid but then when they realize you're not going to do anything they'll give you the worst jobs on the missions and you'll have to do it because you're trying to prove that you're not a killing machine. Even the slightest show of temper will put you right back where you started."

"I know."

"You're so articulate. I think that's the third time you've said that in the last hour."

He smirked then sobered, "It's the only way, Kaoru."

"I know I know. It's just that...you're my friend, Gaara-kun. I'll worry." He allowed a quick smile to appear on his face before it vanished. Gaara's personality has had several changes to it but he was still uncomfortable with expressing his emotions. She smiled at him without reservation. Then she gave him a stern look, "I'm going with you to see your team though."

"I know," he responded with a smirk. Kaoru shook her head at her friends rare show of humor with a smile.

They walked into the practice area and there stood the rest of the team. Kaoru knew them all by name. There was Yuki and Daisuke. They were decent as far as guys went and Kaoru had no doubt they would be among of the first to give Gaara a chance. Yuki had shoulder length dark brown hair and chocolate colored eyes. Daisuke was a blonde with calm ice blue eyes.

The last two in the group weren't so great in Kaoru's opinion. Hiroshi and Kaito were twin brothers and both were mean as snakes. They both had short choppy silver hair with narrow golden eyes. Hiroshi noticed them first. He smirked, "Well, hello Kaoru. Finally decided to go out with me."

"Let me think about it...ummm...no," was Kaoru's reply.

"Leave her alone, Hiroshi. You know she's never going out with you," Yuki said in exasperation.

"She will one day."

"When pigs fly," Kaoru snapped. She really hated Hiroshi.

Daisuke looked over Kaoru's shoulder. He was the first to acknowledge Gaara's presence. His tone was calm, "Hello, Sabaku no Gaara. Why are you here?"

Kaoru glanced at Gaara and saw that he wasn't going to answer so she did for him, "He's going on the mission with you guys."

"What?!" four male voices said at once.

"Gaara-kun is going to be on your team," she repeated.

Yuki and Daisuke were the first to get over their shock. They exchanged glances then shrugged. There was nothing they could do about it so they decided to make the best of it. Hiroshi and Kaito were not nearly as cooperative. Kaito glared at Gaara, "They want us to go on a mission with that monster. He'll kill us."

Kaoru looked at him coldly, "Gaara-kun is not a monster and if you ever call him that in my hearing range again you'll have worse problems to deal with than him."

Kaito flinched and took a couple of steps back. Kaoru was about to walk forward when a sand barrier was raised in front of her. She glanced over and saw Gaara. He calmly shook his head at her. She narrowed her eyes but stepped back beside him. Gaara looked at the other ninja. His tone was as calm as the rest of him, "I won't kill anyone from our village."

Yuki looked at Kaoru then back at Gaara. When he saw that Kaoru was perfectly calm around the red head he took a tentative step forward. Gaara's see foam eyes focused on him. Yuki looked Gaara in the eye, "I'm not going to trust you yet but I'm willing to give it a shot. This is an A ranked mission so I won't object to having the best on our team and you are definitely the best."

Gaara gave a slight nod of his head to let Yuki know he'd heard him and understood. Kaoru smiled, "When do you guys leave?"

Daisuke looked at her, "Tomorrow morning."

"Alright. I'll be there." Kaoru reached out and grabbed Gaara's hand, "Come one, Gaara-kun. We need to get something for lunch and Temari and Kankuro will want to know who's on your team."

Gaara allowed her to pull him along behind her with an amused look in his sea green eyes though the rest of his expression was blank. The rest of his team watched in amazement. Could that be the same Gaara that everyone had been afraid of just yesterday because he would have murdered them on sight? Here he was allowing the most timid girl in their village to tug him behind her without even a token protest. The other sand nin began to wonder what they were missing. Hiroshi was also wondering what was going on between Kaoru and the monster.

The next morning Kaoru came with Gaara to say good bye. She also gave the team one last health check beens she was there. None of them complained because they didn't want to find out they were sick when it was too late to do anything about it. Kaoru waved to them as they walked away. She turned to go back home and to bed when she saw a pile of sand waving at her. The medic smiled softly. No, Gaara wasn't comfortable with showing his emotions but he found little ways to remind you that he cared.

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After several months people got use to Gaara being placed on their team and they even stopped complaining about it. In fact, Yuki and Daisuke started to request that he be placed on their teams for missions. Gaara was solid back up and he never let his team down. It helped that he didn't complain and they could sleep all night because he couldn't sleep anyways. Most of them still didn't want to accept him but they tolerated him. Kaoru decided that tolerance was an improvement. Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro agreed.

Kaoru was at their house one night when a storm hit. The medical nin got up and looked outside. Sure enough is was solid dark outside. She would be able to see more than a few feet in front of her if that. Gaara noticed her nervousness and got up to see for himself. When he saw the storm and how dark it was he remembered that she had said she was afraid of the dark. Gaara looked over to her and said, "You'll stay here."

She looked at him in confusion for a moment then when she understood she smiled, "Thank you, Gaara-kun."

"Kaoru," Temari started, "Do you realize that you've started adding the -kun to the end of Gaara's name?"

Kaoru blinked in surprise, "Ummm, no. Is that bad?"

Gaara just shook his head. When Kankuro started to comment he gave him a warning look. Kankuro still liked to tease Kaoru mercilessly and Gaara wouldn't let him right now. She was already nervous. No point in letting Kankuro make it worse. The red head stood up and motioned for Kaoru to follow him. When they reached his room he opened the door and walked in. She followed because he hadn't told her where she was going yet. He turned to face her, "You can stay here."

"But Gaara-kun, this is your room."

"I know. I don't use it anyway."

Kaoru gave him a small smile, "Gaara-kun, I won't be able to sleep tonight. It's dark and I'm in a strange place."

Gaara looked at her in consideration then asked, "Would you feel better if I stayed in the room?"

The medical nin looked down and whispered, "Yes."

He reached out and made her look at him, "You don't have to be ashamed."

She smiled at him. What he had experienced gave him an understanding of others that no one else could have. He knew what it was like to be lonely and unloved. Gaara also knew how it felt to need to repent for something so bad no one would talk about it. He had been betrayed by someone he loved and he had killed someone that he loved. The red head would always have a basic understanding of people because he's probably already been there himself. So it didn't surprise Kaoru that he understood her fear. He was after all afraid to sleep at all. Kaoru thought all this as she pulled him towards the bed. She remembered that he had slept just fine when they had been kids. The medic hoped that hadn't changed.

Gaara blinked in surprise. He really wasn't use to people wanted him near them and kept forgetting that Kaoru was different. She always had been. When they were kids she was never afraid or even saw a reason to be. The new girl had walked up to him with a shy smile and asked if he had wanted to play. He remembered being surprised that someone had actually smiled at him. Then later she had been more than willing to let him stay the night at her house. It even became abnormal not to find him at her house sleeping.

Kaoru made him sit on the bed, "If you're not going to sleep at least rest, Gaara-kun. You have to leave on a mission tomorrow and you need your energy."

In response He made himself comfortable but remained sitting. Kaoru smiled in victory and laid down under the covers. She reached out and took his hand in case he thought about getting up. She wasn't a sound sleeper so if he moved she would know and if he tried she would knock him out for his troubles. It didn't take the medical nin long to fall asleep. Gaara was looking at her in slight amazement. He would never understand how she could be so comfortable around him. She knew he had killed mercilessly and without need. She knew what was inside him and yet here she was sleeping next to him. This girl trusted him so much that she relaxed this much around him. Even Temari and Kankuro had never been this trusting of him.

While these thoughts chased around his head he didn't notice that his eyes were getting heavy. He didn't pay any attention to his muscles relaxing one by one. His breathing deepened and he rested his head against the wall behind him. Gaara told himself that he was just resting his eyes as he let them close. For the first time in about seven years Sabaku no Gaara fell into a sound sleep.

Kankuro walked in the next morning and saw Gaara sleeping. He blinked several times, "What the hell? Gaara doesn't sleep."

Kaoru had already been awake walked over and clamped a hand on Kankuro's big mouth, "Which is exactly why I'll beat you if you wake him up now."

Now Kankuro wasn't an idiot contrary to popular belief. He knew that when it came to Gaara Kaoru didn't make empty threats. Anyone that messed with Gaara suffered her wrath. Apperantly waking Gaara up fell under the messing with Gaara category. He nodded to his abnormally violent friend and she back up.

"Sorry. It's just...odd. I've never seen him sleep before."

Kaoru glanced back at Gaara, "I have."

Kankuro looked at her and began to understand. Gaara had disappeared a lot when they were kids and only their uncle Yashamaru could find him. The puppeteer believed he now knew where Gaara use to disappear to. Well, it looked like they found a way to get Gaara to sleep. Too bad it wouldn't work all the time. Kaoru wouldn't always be able to be around to help Gaara sleep. Oh well, at least while he was there Kankuro knew Gaara would get some sleep.

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Kaoru was at the gate doing the last health check up on them. The team consisted of Gaara, Yuki, Hiroshi, Kaito, and a girl named Aimi. Yuki was talking to Gaara about the mission. He was leading the mission but he knew that keeping Gaara informed was a very good idea. Kaoru walked up to the two with a smile. Gaara nodded to her in greeting.

"Kankuro and Temari are over by the gate," she informed him.

Gaara nodded then headed over to them. Kaoru turned her attention to Yuki, "Everyone's good to go."

"That's good. We should be back in a week so don't worry."

"Alright. Umm...Yuki?"

"What is it?"

"Bring Gaara-kun back safely please. Hiroshi doesn't like him so I'm worried."

Yuki's chocolate eyes softened, "Don't worry, Kaoru. I'll make sure Hiroshi doesn't bother Gaara too much."

Kaoru smiled at him then walked over to Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara. A few minutes later the team headed out. Yuki walked beside Gaara. The two jonin kept a comfortable silence between them. The team leader was the one to speak first, "You're serious about proving yourself aren't you?"

"Yes."

Yuki glanced at Gaara, "Well, just so you know, you've got my support."

Gaara looked over at Yuki in surprise. Yuki chuckled, "I know Koaru and have since we were six years old. She's a really good judge in character and she likes you, Gaara. If she's your friend you can't be all bad. Just watch out for Hiroshi. He will hate you simply because Kaoru doesn't."

Gaara raised an eyebrow, "That's not very logical."

"It has noting to do with logic. He's had a thing for her for about a year now. Since shortly before the chunin exams. The problem is she won't give him a time of day. He'll hate you because she gives you more than that."

Gaara looked forward again with a smirk. To be honest he didn't like Hiroshi either. It would have bothered him if Kaoru had. But she didn't like Hiroshi and Gaara knew that the guy would blame him. Oh well, Gaara decided to handle it when it came. Until then he would just do what needed to be done.

That night at camp Hiroshi looked over at Gaara. The guy never slept and would even take guard duty all night because of it. Hiroshi refused. There was no way in hell he would trust the jerk. He did his best to make Gaara as miserable as hell. Hiroshi made Gaara do a lot of the chores and Gaara wouldn't let anyone argue about it. He just did the task and moved on. Kaito helped his brother in making Gaara as miserable as possible. Between the two of them Gaara was kept busy but the red head didn't complain and just did whatever needed to be done. There were a few occasions that Yuki and been afraid that Gaara would snap but the jonin surprised them and reined in his temper.

They had almost completed their mission which was to gather a plant in the territory of the Rain Village. The plant was a cure to a illness going around in Suna and the only way to get it was to send ninjas in to retrieve it. Yuki glanced at Gaara. The man was exhausted. If Yuki hadn't been paying attention he might not have noticed the small signs but he had been so he did. Yuki knelt beside his comrade, "Gaara, maybe you shouldn't take guard duty tonight. You look like shit man."

"Thanks," the single word was dripping in sarcasm.

"No problem," Yuki replied cheerfully. Then he sobered, "Seriously. You need to rest."

"I can't."

"Why the hell not?"

"I can't sleep. I've never been able too."

"You mean you don't sleep at all?"

"No," Gaara replied. He chose not to mention the only exception there was to the rule. He slept just fine when Kaoru was near by but she wasn't here now so that didn't matter.

Yuki sighed, "Alright but I'm not leaving you alone on guard duty."

Gaara just nodded in agreement. Yuki ordered Kaito to stay up with Gaara on guard duty. The minute everyone was asleep Kaito sneered at Gaara, "I'm going to sleep. There's no point in both of us staying up."

Gaara just shrugged. He refused to give Kaito or Hiroshi the satisfaction of hearing him complain. He would take their shit if only to spite them. They thought he wouldn't do it much long but he was determined. Neither of them was worth a fight. A few hours later Gaara stood up. Something wasn't right. He walked over to Yuki and woke him up. The red head opened his mouth to say something when the enemy attacked.

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That's it for now. I'll try to update soon. Enjoy 


	8. Problems

I'm updating this story today because one of the reviewer...i won't name any names but their initials are Yashako-Chan...threatened to kill me if i didn't. I just want to say that i appreciate all the reviews...even the violent ones.

Also i'm gonna bring in the akatsuki in about 2 maybe 3 chapters and i was thinking about making one of them turn into a good guy. at this moment i'm leaning towards Sasori but i'm open to suggestions if anyone wants to give one. the former bad guy will live in suna and i will probably pair whoever it is with temari or something like that. just figured i'd give ya'll a chance to comment on this.

Disclaimer: I know you want me to stop talking so you can read the story but I have to put this in here or someone might get the silly idea to sue me. anyways i don't own naruto or any characters from naruto

now without further ado here's the 7th chapter of A Suna Story

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**Ch. 7: Problems  
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Kaoru was walking out of a store when she heard the commotion at the gate to the village. She ran. Gaara and his team were supposed to be back any day now and she was excited about seeing her friend again. When she reached the gate her eyes widened and she ran faster. There was a group of ninja being helped to the hospital. Then she saw Yuki with an unconscious Gaara on his back.

"What happened to him?" she demanded in fear when she reached them.

"We were attacked," Yuki managed in between pants.

Kaoru got herself back under control. Gaara wasn't the only one that needed help after all. The whole team needed medical attention. Gaara was the most injured so he needed to get to the hospital. Kaoru glanced around and saw a familiar black hood heading their way. "Kankuro, over here. Gaara is hurt."

Kankuro reached them and then lifted Gaara up himself, "I'll meet you at the hospital."

She nodded then returned to making sure that the rest of the team got help reaching the hospital. When Kaoru got to the hospital the other medics tried to get her to work on the rest of the team first but she wouldn't until they told her who was treating Gaara. She felt her anger reach it's peak when they told her that no one was treating him. After throwing a few object and shouting at everyone in sight Kaoru told them that if they needed her she would be in Gaara's room treating his injuries. In the meantime, they could treat the rest of the team since they were to good to treat Gaara.

Kaoru was in Gaara's room treating him for the next several hours. She couldn't understand how he had gotten so injured. His sand should have defended him. Why hadn't it? Not to mention Gaara was a powerful and skilled ninja. How did someone get through his sand, skill, and power and injure him this badly? He had several broken bones and his body was riddled with bruises. Then there was the single stab wound where a kunai had barely missed his heart. She definitely had some questions for his team.

Kankuro and Temari came in when Kaoru had just finished healing Gaara. She looked up at them with anger smoldering in her blood red eyes. Her tone was very controlled when she finally spoke, "Something went seriously wrong. Gaara is completely out of chakra and he's physically exhausted, not to mention he had a lot of physical injuries that he shouldn't have gotten."

The two sand siblings exchanged looks. Both were thinking the same thing, 'How the hell had he gotten injured physically?' Then Temari spoke to Kaoru, "Are you going to stay in here with him?"

"Yes. I can't trust the rest of the medics to take care of him. I'll stay the night and make sure that he'll be alright. I've done all I can for now." Kaoru turned to Kankuro, "Can you find Yuri and ask her to come check him herself when she gets a chance?"

"Sure, Kaoru. I'll be right back."

After Kankuro left Temari left to go get Kaoru something to eat. Healing always made the girl hungry but she couldn't leave Gaara until she knew he was out of danger. Kaoru didn't leave Gaara's room for the rest of the day. Kankuro and Temari were with her when they had time and they even brought both her and Gaara an overnight bag for the next day. Temari made sure that Kaoru got dinner. Yuri came in to check Gaara out herself and told Kaoru that he would be fine. He was just exhausted. Kaoru still didn't leave. No one really expected her to.

The next morning Kaoru was changing Gaara's bandages when he woke up. She smiled in relief when she saw those sea foam eyes open up. Gaara sat up and placed a hand on his forehead. If he showed emotions he would have groaned. As it was all he did was frown and let out his groan mentally. He felt as if he had been on the losing end of a fist. Oh wait, he had been. Kaoru threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. Gaara wrapped one arm around her waist and braced himself on the other.

"Thank god you're alright. When they brought you back and I saw all the bruises and the blood," tears began to pour from her crimson eyes as she spoke.

Gaara found himself wrapping his other arm around her and just sitting there while she cried. She had really been worried. No one had ever done this before. They never felt so relieved he was alright that they cried. What was with this girl? After a moment she pulled back, "I'm sorry, Gaara. This seems to be a bad habit of mine every time you end up in the hospital."

He smirked and shook his head at her, "You worry too much."

She smiled, "Perhaps."

He was about to comment a when there was a knock on the door. She stood up and walked to the door. Meanwhile Gaara was just noticing he was lacking a shirt and got up to find it. He found his shoes first and put them on. Now where was his damn shirt? There was a familiar voice at the door so he looked over. Yuki and Aimi walked into the room. When Aimi saw him she seem to freeze and her silver eyes widened. She blew her strawberry blonde hair out of her eyes and then looked at him again.

"I'm glad to see you're alright, Gaara," Yuki commented. "We were all worried for a moment there."

"Now will someone tell me how the hell he got so injured?" Kaoru demanded with her hands on her hips.

Yuki suddenly looked very pissed off, "We were ambushed."

"How did they sneak up and five highly trained jonin?" Kaoru asked.

"Well, Gaara and Kaito were supposed to be on guard duty. Kaito went to sleep anyway and left Gaara alone to watch. Normally that wouldn't have been a problem except Gaara was already tired. His senses were sluggish so he was a few seconds to late in noticing the enemy. They focused on him as the major threat so Gaara had to deal with the bulk of them."

Kaoru took a deep breath to get control of her temper. She could kill Kaito later. "Alright. So Gaara was physically exhausted. That means that even if he had all his chakra he wouldn't have been able to use it as effectively. That explains how come his sand couldn't protect him as well as it should have."

"Actually that's not entirely true," Yuki said. Kaoru looked at him in expectation so he continued, "Hiroshi was about to be killed but Gaara redirected his sand so that it protected Hiroshi instead of himself. That was when Gaara started to get injured. Gaara was too tired to protect himself and Hiroshi. As a result he had to fight the enemy head on and he still had a majority of them after him. Then one got a lucky shot with a kunai."

"That's where the stab wound came from."

"Yeah. Aimi and me rushed over to defend him. Neither Hiroshi or Kaito were in much of a hurry to save him."

"I can kill them later," Kaoru chanted under her breath a few times. Only Gaara was close enough to hear her and he found himself smirking. She saw his smirk and a sheepish look crossed her face. He just shook his head at her then glanced around the room again. Kaoru tilted her head, "Lose something, Gaara-kun?"

He looked at her then rubbed at his bare arm while looking around the room again. Kaoru smiled as she figured out what he was looking for. She crossed the room to where two bags were sitting on a table. She reached into one and pulled out a new set of Gaara's clothes. She turned back to face him and noticed that she now had his undivided attention. That's when it hit her. Gaara was standing in front of her without a shirt and damn did he look good. There wasn't an ounce of fat on him. It was all well toned muscle. She quickly focused on his face. No one noticed Kaoru's moment of distraction. She smiled at Gaara and held up his clothes, "Shower first and don't put your shirt on until after I have a chance to finish treating that stab wound."

He took the clothes and the bag then headed for the bathroom. Kaoru turned back to Yuki and Aimi. She noted Aimi's eyes follow Gaara as he moved to the bathroom. Kaoru was expecting the girl to start drooling any minute. Gaara didn't seem to notice her at all or if he did he didn't care. They all continued to talk about what had happened during the mission. The good news was that they had managed to bring some of the plants with them even if they didn't get as much as they had originally wanted. They had already given them to Yuri to make the medicine with and plant the seeds in their greenhouse. A nurse came and took Aimi and Yuki away to change their bandages and make sure their wounds were healing alright.

After a few minutes later Gaara came out of the shower. Kaoru got up and walked over to the bed with him. He sat down on the edge of it and waited patiently while she tended to his wound. Kaoru was trying to ignore the fact that Gaara was shirtless and she was touching him. She thought about the mission he had just come from instead. The medic was still feeling annoyed at Hiroshi's and Kaito's treatment of Gaara. Aimi's interest in Gaara didn't help either though Kaoru refused to admit it even to herself. Her tone was cheerful when she spoke, "Looks like you're developing a few friends outside of me, Temari, and Kankuro."

"It would seem so," Gaara said slowly. He was watching Kaoru's face and saw the anger boiling underneath the surface.

"You've even got the beginnings of a fanclub in Aimi. Must have really impressed her, huh," Kaoru commented without looking up.

Gaara reached out and took her chin in his hand. Kaoru had no choice but to look at him when he tugged on her chin. His sea foam eyes held slight amusement but mostly concern.

"I know you're angry about what Kaito and Hiroshi did but I didn't expect you to get jealous about Aimi," he said more to distract her than because he believed she was jealous. The thing was he didn't believe she was. As far as he knew Kaoru had never been jealous of anyone before. She had always been happy just the way she was and didn't care to get much else. The only excuse I can give for his ignorance is Gaara doesn't have a good understanding of a girl's feelings. Any girl could have told him that Kaoru was definitely feeling jealous.

She gave an indignant look, "I am not jealous."

He was definitely smiling now, "If you say so. Just so you know, I have no interest in Aimi. She's too loud or as Shikamaru would say, troublesome."

Kaoru couldn't help but smile then she frowned, "Oh, Gaara. It's just that...What Hiroshi and Kaito did was wrong."

"I know. Kaoru, I knew that I couldn't change everyone's mind. What I expect is for some of them to begin to tolerate me and then perhaps give me a chance to change. Not for them to like me."

"I know but that doesn't mean what they did pissed me off any less," Kaoru grumbled. Then added, "And I was not jealous."

Gaara chuckled as he pulled on his shirt. Kaoru walked over and grabbed her bag. Then huffed into the shower but grinned over her shoulder to let him know she wasn't serious before shutting the door.

After her shower the two of them headed out to meet Kankuro and Temari for lunch. Gaara looked over at him with a smile. The four of them enjoyed their time together. The red head didn't act that different but it was obvious that he was more relaxed than normal. He allowed small smiles and his eyes displayed his emotions instead of keeping them guarded. Gaara sat back and just listened to the conversation around him and felt content. It was good to be home.

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Gaara wasn't so sure this was a good idea. He would rather be on an A ranked mission than where he was right then. Unfortunately for him, Kaoru and Yuri both said he needed time to recover from the injuries he had sustained from the last mission. So his siblings and Kaoru dragged him here. Here was a school by the way. Apparently his friends had started a school that mimicked the Konoha academy. It was a good idea except Gaara hated teaching and he wasn't good at it.

The kids got a chance to ask questions. One girl with choppy shoulder length brown hair and black eyes had asked if she had to use a weapon because they could hurt the other person or even kill them. The girl wore a loose green shirt that slipped off one of her shoulders and you could see the sleeve of a tank top under it. Her skirt was black as were her gloves and thigh high stockings. She wore light brown boots and a yellow bandanna around her neck.

Kaoru was going to stick close to Gaara to keep him from bolting for the closest exit. They knew he would if given the opportunity. He seemed to take an interest in this girl's question and would have given her an answer except everyone else's terrified reaction. Kaoru let out a sigh. The adults' fear didn't bother Gaara nearly as much as the children's. When he noticed their reaction he stopped speaking so Temari and Kankuro answered for him. Kaoru placed a hand on Gaara's arm in support. He shot her a grateful glance while the children ran to pick an instructor. Kaoru only took the ones with interest in medical training beens that was her specialty. The others were to get split among Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara.

Gaara stood there with his eyes closed. He wasn't expecting anyone to choose him. That would have suited him just fine but the girl had other ideas. She walked up to him and asked him to train her. Gaara looked at her in mild surprise and asked if she was sure. She definitely seemed sure. Kaoru, Kankuro, and Temari all smiled at the sight. Gaara asked her for her name.

"It's Matsuri," she replied nervously. The girl wanted to please too much. Gaara felt himself soften when her shy smile and timid manner reminded him of someone else. She picked the club because she had thought that was what he wanted her to pick. He finally handed her the jouhyou. It had a knife at one end of a string that was attached to a hollow stick. He told her how to use it and told her to practice. She did even though it was obvious she didn't like weapons. Gaara allowed a small smile when no one was looking. Definitely reminded him of someone else by doing what she didn't want to do just to please someone else.

Kaoru walked up beside him, "You look amused."

"She reminds me of someone."

"Oh, who would that be?"

He glanced at her, "Someone special."

They heard the knife end cut into the ground. The two of them looked over to see Matsuri had froze up and just staring at the sharp object as if it were a snake about to bite her. Kaoru started to walk towards her in worry but Gaara stopped her, "Let me handle it."

"Alright."

He walked up to his student, "What's wrong?"

She told him about her family. Matsuri's parents had been killed in front of her by many weapons and now she was afraid of weapons. Kaoru felt her heart go out to the girl. She knew what it felt like to lose your parents. She had came home to find her parents' dead bodies and now she was afraid of the dark. Well, afraid of what was in the dark rather than the dark itself. The medic could definitely relate to this girl in a way. Gaara asked Matsuri why she used a weapon. This surprised the girl. Then he explained what Naruto had told Gaara when they had fought. He turned and walked away to let her think about what he had said. Kaoru followed him out with a wave to Matsuri.

When they walked back into the village they saw Temari and Kankuro with one of the ninja that had been guarding the gates. The ninja told them that someone called the Shitenshounin had said they would kill someone important to Gaara for every day that he didn't respond to their challenge. Gaara glanced around and saw that everyone that mattered to him was right there except for... He suddenly turned and started to run. Kaoru told Kankuro and Temari to go after him. She would tend to the other sand nin. They agreed and followed after their brother.

A few hours later the four of them were standing in the council room asking for permission to go after the Shitenshounin and save Matsuri. Baki did some arguing for them. He told the council where the enemy was going and that they should request help from Konoha. The council agreed with him. Then Baki turned and ordered them to form a squad and prepare to pursue the enemy. Gaara was the only one that didn't complain. He turned to leave. Temari, Kankuro, and Kaoru weren't nearly as cooperative.

"Wait a minute," Kankuro demanded. "The enemy's objective is Gaara. Are we suppose to just fall into their trap?!"

Temari agreed with him, "That's right. Why aren't we developing other units?"

Kaoru just stood beside them. She would let them argue because she was the first to admit she didn't like confrontations. There were exceptions but this wasn't one of them. Temari and Kankuro were doing just fine and they were better at arguing anyways. Baki had an answer for them. They didn't want to risk this being a diversion to get at the village while it was defensless. The three of them weren't going to be fooled. They knew the council was hoping that Gaara would get killed while he was saving Matsuri.

"Well, at least you're coming with us, right, Baki?!" Kankuro demanded in anger. Kaoru could feel the guilt coming off of Baki. He wanted to come. He knew how hard Gaara was trying and wished to support him but the council wouldn't let him. Koaru felt sorry for the jonin. He was stuck between Gaara and the council. Baki took so long answering Kankuro said, "Well?"

"I've been given a different mission. Go."

Before Kankuro or Temari could argue anymore Gaara walked right past them. Even though he didn't say a word the rest of his team knew that meant he was going to do just what the council ordered him too. They followed him when they reached the gate of the village they stopped. Kankuro turned to face Kaoru, "You should probably stay here."

Kaoru gave him a withering look, "If you honestly think I'm going to stay here while some psychos try to kill Gaara then you've lost your mind."

Temari smirked then said, "We might need her. She's one of the most skilled medical nins in the village so she won't be useless and we all know when push comes to shove Kaoru can defend herself without any problems."

The other two agreed. Kaoru crossed her arms and seriously considered hitting Kankuro but decided against it. They might need him later. She could hit him after they'd saved Matsuri. They turned and then stopped again. Standing in front of the gates was Yuki, Daisuke, and Aimi. Daisuke spoke for the group, "We wanted to wish you luck. The council isn't allowing us to come with you so that's all we can do. So good luck and come back safely."

Gaara nodded and this time they headed out without interruptions.

Meanwhile Konoha had just received news of the kidnapping and had formed a team under Shikamaru to go help. Shikamaru had chosen several people for this missions including Naruto, Lee, Ino, Choji, and Kiba. He split them off into two man teams while they were traveling. They ended up waiting for Shino, Neji, and Hinata to find the enemy and the four sand nin. Sasuke and Sakura were both ahead of them too. Sasuke was there to watch Sakura's back because she was there as a medic for the teams.

By this point Temari and Kankuro had both stayed behind to fight different enemies. Temari was fighting some girl with control over the wind just like her. Kankuro was fighting with some kid that had a extending sword. Kaoru could tell that Gaara was worried but both of his siblings assured him that they would be fine. Kaoru wasn't so sure. There was something about these guys that just wasn't right. Meanwhile her and Gaara were still following the two guys with Matsuri. One of them suddenly stopped. So did Kaoru and Gaara.

Kaoru knew she couldn't stay behind like the others. She wasn't that strong of a fighter. Besides she was here as a medic and that meant she had to avoid fighting when she could. Kaoru looked at Gaara. He nodded in understanding then motioned to the forest behind him. With a nod of her head Kaoru jumped back out of the way. She stood in a tree looking down at the two fighters. The one that wanted to fight Gaara watched her leave. He looked back at Gaara, "What? Is she too important to you to risk in a fight?"

Gaara only said one word, "Medic."

The man's eyes widened. They hadn't factored that in. They had just assumed that they were all normal ninja except for Gaara. It hadn't occurred to them that one would be a medical nin. Oh well, that wouldn't matter. She wouldn't be able to save Gaara. They would see to that. As Gaara and the other ninja fought the Konoha ninja were saving Temari and Kankuro and just in time too. Sakura and Sasuke were heading towards the fight to give medical support.

Then something happened. The enemy used some kind of jutsu to get Gaara's sand wet so he couldn't maneuver it. He got injured as a result and lost all this sand use. The ninja he was fighting attacked with his big weapon while Gaara couldn't move. Kaoru was about to move to save Gaara when someone else entered the battle and did it for her. The medic had never been so happy to see Rock Lee and Naruto. They defended Gaara while Kaoru jumped down to take care of Gaara. Sakura came out of the woods and took over the healing. Kaoru let her. She wanted to use her healing chakra as last resort because she was a better fighter than Sakura at the moment though her pink haired friend was getting stronger. Sasuke stood watch over both girls. Kaoru stood next to him. She could feel the edginess coming off of him. He wanted to fight.

"Go one, Sasuke. I'll watch Sakura while she takes care of Gaara. I can handle that much," she told him. He glanced at her then nodded and joined Naruto and Lee in the fight.

After Sakura finished healing Gaara the best she could she had to leave to see to Ino. Sasuke landed beside her and the two of them headed off in the direction of the waterfall. Gaara got back into the fight. He formed a spear with his sand armor and killed the enemy with one hit.

Kaoru knelt beside Lee and checked out his leg, "You can't fight anymore. Even if you want to."

Naruto and Gaara walked up and told them that they were going to catch up to the other ninja that had Matsuri. Kaoru looked at them with concern. She needed to take care of Lee's leg but she wanted to go with Gaara to make sure he would be alright. Matsuri screamed. Kaoru looked at Gaara, "Go get her, Gaara. You too, Naruto. I'll take care of Lee."

"Alright, Kaoru. Don't worry I'll keep Gaara safe," Naruto promised enthusiastically.

Kaoru smiled at him, "Thanks, Naruto."

The two of them headed off in the direction of Matsuri. Kaoru turned to Lee and began to treat his injury. Lee sat there patiently through it. She sat back with a smile, "Alright. That's all I can do here. When we get back to Suna I'll be able to fix it the rest of the way."

"That is good," Lee said as he began to sit up.

Kaoru frowned and placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him, "You shouldn't participate in anymore fighting until your leg had finished healing."

"I have to. Gaara saved my life and I have to return the favor," the genin argued.

"Look, Lee..." Kaoru started but Lee interrupted her.

"Kaoru, you care about Gaara right?"

Kaoru nodded slowly unsure of where this was going.

"Well, Gaara is my friend too. Tell me would you just sit here and wait to heal while your friend was fighting?"

She looked at him for a moment then let out a resigned sigh, "No, I wouldn't."

"Then you know I can not just sit here either."

"All right, Lee. Let's go catch up to them then, shall we?"

The two of them got up and headed in the same direction Gaara and Naruto had gone. The others caught up to them and they entered the area together. The fight was taking place in a U shaped valley with vertical cliffs forming the U. There was a large silver dome in the area and Naruto kept trying to get into it. There was a silver haired man in large white robes and a gold ring around his forehead floating on a glowing green ball. He had all the weapons from the other ninjas.

Kaoru ignored everything but one person. He was standing in the center of the valley and something was terribly wrong. Shukaku was coming out. Half of Gaara's body was already taking the form of the beast. Kaoru felt the rage rolling off of Gaara and the fear coming from everyone around her. The only person in the entire area that was calm was the silver haired man. Matsuri told them that the man called himself Seimei, the founder of the Takumi Village. The medic from Suna suddenly felt like pounding that man. Didn't he realize what he had done? Of course not because he was a dumbass. Naruto started to go back into the fight but Sakura wouldn't let him until she had treated his injuries. The other's couldn't get too close because of the chakra absorbing armor. So everyone was forced to just stand there and watch. It was killing Kaoru.

Gaara was trying to keep control. He knew that his friends would be in danger if he lost his consciousness to Shukaku. He kept thinking about the things his uncle had told him before he had died. Yashamaru had been wrong. Gaara knew that now. There were people that loved him. His family and friends were here now because they cared and wanted to help. He couldn't let them down. Gaara began to fight to put Shukaku right where he should be in his subconscious. Everyone watched in amazement as the sand fell off of him and the Gaara they knew came back. Kaoru let out a sigh of relief.

It turned out that Gaara had a plan from the very beginning. He had extracted sand from the area around them and buried the man in it. The man came back up and began to drain Gaara's chakra again with the armor. Gaara used what was left of his chakra to form a spear and pierced Seimei's body straight through his armor. Then Gaara sucked him back into the ground and used the Sabaku Taisou. Without his armor Seimei died instantly. After the fight was over Gaara turned towards them and collapsed. They all ran to him. Kaoru got there first because she was the only one not exhausted from fighting. She check him for any serious injuries then smiled in relief.

"He's going to be alright. It's just exhaustion."

Kankuro smirked, "Go figure we made him take a vacation so he could rest and that's the last thing he does. Gaara seems to be developing a nasty habit of ending up in the hospital."

Kaoru shook her head, "He doesn't need to go to the hospital. A few bandages and good weeks worth of sleep and he should be fine."

"That's great," Temari said in relief.

Kankuro picked Gaara up and the group headed back to Konoha for treatment. Tsunade allowed Kaoru to treat Gaara's injuries herself. After a few days of rest the Sand nin prepared to return home. Before she left Kaoru found Sakura sitting with Naruto and Sasuke. Team 7 looked at her and each acknowledged her presence in their own way. Sasuke nodded his head. Naruto jumped up and hugged her with his goofy grin on his face. Sakura smiled and said hello.

"Hey guys. We're leaving so I was coming to say good bye."

"We heard. Sasuke and Naruto are leaving too so they can train. Sasuke-kun is going with Kakashi-sensei and Naruto is going with Jiraiya. I'm staying here to train with Tsunade," Sakura said.

"I want to wish you guys luck. Oh, and by the way I hope you will come visit us in Suna once and a while." Kaoru turned and began to walked way waving over her shoulder, "See ya guys again someday."

The sand siblings, Kaoru, and Matsuri headed back home. Kaoru put her arms behind her head while she walked. She really hoped that her friends in Konoha would do alright. The Suna medical nin couldn't wait to see how they turned out. That's when she remembered something. She reached over and hit Kankuro on the head.

"Ow, Kaoru, what was that for?" he demanded rubbing at his head.

"For even thinking that I would have stayed behind earlier. You should know better."

Gaara shook his head at the two of them as they continued to argue. He swore they fought like siblings. Oh well, it kept life interesting.

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There it is. Now Yashako-Chan please don't kill me. I hope you guys all liked this chapter. Now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go work on the next one.

Oh don't forget to send me a review.


	9. Becoming Kazekage

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I tried for humor in this one. And as I've mentioned in the last chapter I've been threated if I don't update often so I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. I can tell you that it will have Sakura in it but I'm not sure about Sasuke and Naruto.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

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**Ch. 8: Becoming Kazekage**

It was almost two years after Naruto and Sasuke both left with their senseis to train. No one was really worried. They were with the strongest ninja in the world. They would both be just fine. They had heard from their friends in Konoha though. The village was as prosperous as it had always been. Sakura was doing just fine. In fact she wanted to come and visit them soon. Shikamaru and Ino seemed to be getting closer though they denied having any feelings for each other. Neji and Tenten had finally gotten together. The news from all her friends made Kaoru happy.

Kaoru was now 14 but her birthday was coming up in a month. She spent a lot of time at the hospital because her training was almost complete. The girl was now one of the best medical nins in Suna. She was also still the only medic that would treat Gaara. He had gradually become more accepted but people still feared and respected his power. That was alright. They were no longer so afraid that they ran every time they saw him or cringed when he spoke. There were several, especially among the older generation, that still hated him but most of the younger ninja admired him. Gaara had even developed a fanclub of girls much to Kaoru's annoyance.

Kaoru sighed as she walked out of one of the hospital rooms. She was carrying a bundle in her arms. The girl felt depressed as she looked down at the bundle. Sometimes even with medical ninjutsu you couldn't save them all. Gaara was walking down the hall and saw her. He had been looking for her because Temari said the medic had missed lunch. When he saw his friend he paused. She had changed a little in the last two years. The medic was a chunin now. She wore a light blue dress like Temari's black one and had a white sash around her waist. Her thick dark hair reached her waist though she still had it in the same style she had always used. The two locks of hair framing her face were shorter than the rest of her hair and only reached her shoulders. Her crimson eyes were older and even more understanding than they had been back then. They also contained a bit of sadness in them right then as she looked at the bundle of blankets in her arms.

"Kaoru?" he called to her.

She looked up at him and smiled. It still amazed him that she smiled at him so easily. Maybe one day he would get use to it. Her tone was light when she said hello to him. "How are you Gaara-kun?"

"Fine. Why are you sad?"

Kaoru was just about to respond when a new voice entered the conversation, "How is he, Kaoru?"

"He's alright, Yuri-sensei. Just hungry."

"We'll have to find a home for him. He can't stay here anymore. I'll get to work on that. Meanwhile can you take him?" Yuri asked. Her blue eyes were looking at the little boy with pity.

"Sure. Between me and my grandmother we should be able to take care of him."

"Good. Give him a name and go home. You look tired," Yuri ordered as she walked away.

Kaoru turned back to Gaara who had his eyebrow raised in silent question. She answered, "A woman went into labor a few months ago. She's been sick for the last few weeks of her pregnancy and we were afraid she would lose the baby. Instead we lost her. The baby is fine but his clan doesn't want him. Apparently they weren't happy that his mother got pregnant out of wedlock."

"Poor kid," Gaara commented.

Kaoru nodded in agreement, "It's alright though. Yuri said she'd find a home for him."

"That's good." Gaara looked at her, "Temari said you missed lunch."

"I know. I had to take care of the baby."

"Come on. I'll get you something to eat," Gaara stated.

"I have a better idea. Come with me to the Tsukino compound. We can eat there and I can get this little guy fed," Kaoru suggested instead.

Gaara agreed and the two of them were walking into her clan's compound a little while later. The head of the Tsukino clan, Kaede, met them at the door, "Well, it's about time dear. I was beginning to get worried."

"Hello, Grandma," Kaoru stated.

"Hello dear." Kaede said with a smile. Her crimson eyes focused on Gaara. His red hair was still spiky and those sea foam eyes were blank of expression until he looked over at Kaoru. He was wearing a red shirt that had to flaps split off at his hips. These flaps reached down to just above his ankles. His baggy pants were black as were his boots. He wore a one sleeved vest over his shirt. While she examined him Kaede felt the nervousness coming from the boy so she reassured him, "It's nice to see you again, boy. Come in. I'll get you some soup."

"Can you get a bottle of milk too, Grandma. We have another guest."

"And who would that be, Kaoru?" Kaede asked. Kaoru pulled the blanket back to reveal a tiny little face. The baby yawned and rubbed at it's deep blue eyes. Kaede smiled at the cute little thing, "So this little guy is our other guest. Well, I'll go get something for him and you can explain how he got here."

The three of them went into the kitchen and Kaede began to make lunch. Kaoru felt bad because she couldn't help. Her hands were full with the little boy. Then she got an idea. She turned to Gaara, "Hey, Gaara-kun, can you do me a favor?"

He looked at her and nodded. Poor Gaara should have asked what the favor was first. She smiled and handed him the baby. Gaara took him because he didn't know what else to do. Kaoru looked into his face and laughed. Gaara was looking at the little boy with something akin to fear. It was funny to see the ultimate weapon of Suna looking at a four month old baby like it was going to murder him. The medic fixed his arms so that he was holding the little boy correctly and then started to help her grandmother cook. Gaara wished she would hurry up so that she could take the thing back. He felt as if he was holding a ticking time bomb.

"So what's his name, Kaoru," Kaede asked.

"Umm, I don't know. We hadn't wanted to name him yet because we were hoping he would've gotten adopted by now. Yuri told me to name him today."

"Do you have any ideas?"

Kaoru's eyes softened, "Yeah. I think I'll name him Kohaku."

Kaede froze for a moment then smiled, "I should have known."

Gaara glanced away from the bomb in his arms to look at Kaoru, "Who's Kohaku?"

"That was my father's name."

Now Gaara understood. The baby in his arms made some kind of noise and Gaara's eyes focused on it again. The baby looked back at him innocently. Gaara wasn't falling for it. This thing was probably planning something. It would start to cry any minute he just knew it. The baby just stared back at him. Kaoru and Kaede were watching them with amused smiles. Kaoru finally took pity on her friend and took Kohaku back from him. Gaara let out a mental sigh of relief and it must have shown on his face because Kaoru started to laugh again.

"Who would have thought that you were afraid of a little baby, Gaara-kun," Kaoru commented in between laughs.

Gaara's eyes narrowed in insult. This just made her laugh harder. Kaede just smiled at them. She could tell that Gaara had changed in the last two years. There was even talk of him becoming the Fifth Kazekage. The village had still yet to select one for one reason or another. Baki and Yuri were currently trying to convince the council that Gaara was the best choice. Baki and Yuri were now often seen together planning their next argument. Personally, Kaede thought that the two of them were starting to develop a relationship but she didn't say anything. If there was one thing all ninjas had in common it was the dislike of having their emotions known to everyone or at least to have them broadcasted. It would probably ruin things if she said anything.

Kaoru told her grandmother how she had ended up with Kohaku and that he would be staying with her until Yuri could find a good home for him. Kaede was excited. She loved kids and knew her granddaughter did too. Kaoru may not live in the same house anymore but she still lived on the compound. Now she would get to see the little one a lot. Kaede watched Kaoru as she fed Kohaku and smiled. She made a mental note to talk to Yuri about Kohaku. She had plans for that little boy now.

After lunch Kaoru and Gaara got ready to leave. The medic had asked Gaara if he would go with her to get clothes for the little boy and he had agreed as long as she didn't make him hold it again. Kaoru had laughed and said she couldn't make any promises. Kaoru went up stairs to see if any of her mother's old baby things were here like a crib or some toys. Gaara started to follow but Kaede held him back. He looked at the old woman with a raised eyebrow.

The woman smiled, "I'm glad you've become her friend again. She was so sad after you pushed her away. I just wanted to tell you that I support you, Gaara, just as my granddaughter does."

Gaara nodded in appreciation and headed up the stairs again. As it turned out there was a crib still in the house so they took it back to Kaoru's home. Kaoru still lived on the Tsukino compound but she had her own house. It had originally been built for her mother so that when she married she would have a place of her own. Things didn't work out that way. Her mother had left with Kaoru's father to Kirigakure in the Land of Water. Now Kaoru lived there. The house suited her. It had two floors. On the first was a what was suppose to be a living room but Kaoru had turned it into a library. There was a little alcove with windows for walls that had several large comfy looking chairs in it. There was a table with a single book on it in the center of the circle of chairs. On the wall opposite the front door was a doorway that lead to the kitchen. Kaoru lead Gaara upstairs and into one of the four bedrooms.

"Here this is my room. We'll put the crib in here that way I can keep an eye on him."

Gaara set the crib down and Kaoru placed Kohaku on her bed. She began fixing up the crib with the occasional help from Gaara. The red head took the time to look around. Kaoru's room was a sky blue color. She had a desk and a dresser. On the dresser was pictured of all her friends. One had Team 7 and there was another of Shikamaru with Ino on his back with her arms around his neck. He was glaring back at her she was grinning at the camera. Another one had a very red Hinata with a goofy Naruto. The last picture was of him, Temari, Kankuro, Baki, and her from their genin days. There was a window seat with a book on it. He was getting the feeling that she liked to read. Gaara looked at the other side of the room and saw her bed in one corner with a nightstand that had a single picture on it. He walked over and picked it up and barely hid his surprise. It was him and her when they were kids.

"Alright Gaara-kun. I'm ready to…" she trailed off when she saw what he was looking at.

"I didn't know you had kept this," he commented.

"It's my favorite."

He set it back down and looked over at her, "Let's get going then."

Kaoru lifted Kohaku up and followed Gaara out of the room. Gaara glanced at her, "Kaoru, I never did tell you that I was sorry did I?"

"Sorry for what, Gaara-kun?"

"For the way I treated you. I told both Temari and Kankuro sorry and I've been working hard to show everyone else that I was. But I haven't once done anything for you have I?"

"Oh, you don't have to. It's enough just to be your friend again," she said with a smile.

Gaara nodded and looked away. He didn't really agree. Even as they walked through the store he was planning on finding Temari and making sure that he got Kaoru something for her birthday that she would love. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought about it before. Kaoru had always been there supporting and defending him even when he hadn't wanted it. Why the hell hadn't he done something for her before now? Right, it was because the girl never asked for anything. She was always trying to please everyone else around her. Oh well, he would fix it now and he would get Temari to help him because, let's face it, Gaara isn't good at that kind of thing.

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Gaara did end up having to hold the kid a lot. When Kaoru wanted to make sure something fit she would make him hold it long enough for her to put it on him then take it off and put his other clothes back on. But once she had finished clothes shopping, Gaara didn't have to hold the little thing anymore much to his relief. Kaoru did make him help her carry the bags home since she had her hands full of the kid. Gaara chose not to complain. He was too afraid she would make him hold the kid again.

When he finally made it home Temari had finished making dinner and was putting on the table. She looked up at him and smiled, "Hey, Gaara. How was your day?"

"Hell."

"How so?" she asked curiously.

"Kaoru made me hold it."

"Hold what?"

"The baby."

"Gaara, I know you don't like to talk but I think you should in this case so that what you just said makes sense," Temari pointed out.

Gaara explained about Kohaku and the shopping over dinner. By the time he was finished Kankuro was dying of laughter and it was obvious that Temari was trying to hold hers in. Apparently Kaoru wasn't the only one that found his reaction to the kid amusing. Gaara hit Kankuro on the head with his sand and gave Temari a glare. Kankuro's laughs were replaced with cussing as he rubbed at his sore head. Temari proceeded to look innocent. Temari decided she wanted to go see Kaoru and the kid the next day and she was dragging both of her brothers with her. The look on Gaara's face sent both of his siblings into laughing fits. The youngest of the sand siblings went to his room on annoyance and ignored is siblings for the rest of the night.

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Kaoru poked her head into Yuri's office the next day, "You wanted to see me Yuri?"

"Yes. Go get the sand siblings and meet me at the council meeting room. We're going to be talking about some things that concern all of you."

Kaoru blinked but nodded. She ran off to find her three friends. As she expected they were in the training grounds. A quick glanced found Gaara standing at the opposite end of the area from her. She rushed over to him and told him what Yuri had told her. He used his sand to make Kankuro and Temari stop fighting. The group headed over to the council room. When they walked in the entire room fell dead silent. Yuri smiled at them and Baki gave them an acknowledging nod.

"You asked for us," Temari stated.

"Yes. Some things have come into discussion here that involve all of you," one of the council men said.

The four ninja just stood there and waited for the council to continue. The men and women in the room seemed nervous about something. Finally Yuri got impatient with them and said, "Oh for goodness sake. Since the rest of them are too chicken to ask you, Gaara, I will. We have finally decided on our new Kazekage and the vote is for you."

Gaara blinked in surprise. The other three were just as shocked. None of them had ever expected the council to offer this to Gaara yet. He was only 15 right now. They had thought the council would wait a few more years before even considering it. Besides far at they knew the council still thought of Gaara as a monster rather than a person. Gaara looked at the each person in the room. The only two people that didn't look nervous or concerned were Baki and Yuki. The two of them were looking at him expectantly almost as if they knew what his answer was already. Gaara looked back at his siblings and Kaoru. They were smiling at him. Kaoru said, "We'll back up whatever decision you make, Gaara-kun."

He nodded to them then looked back at the council, "Let me think about it for a week. Then I'll decide."

They all nodded in agreement. Now Yuri turned to Kaoru, "Now, Kaoru. I want you to be a member of this council."

"What?!" Kaoru said in complete shock.

"You heard me. One day you will take my place as the Head Medical-Nin. I want to make sure your ready so you have to learn how this council works. I want you to be a part of it now while I'm here to teach you."

Kaoru blinked and as she processed this information Baki turned to Temari and Kankuro, "We also want you to become part of this council for the same reasons. I want to teach you how it works now rather that make you learn by yourselves when I'm no longer here."

The sand siblings and Kaoru all exchanged looks. They came to a unanimous agreement. Temari stepped forward, "We will all think about these offers for a week. At the end of this week we will return here and give our answers."

"So be it," said the ninja in charge of the council.

The four of them left the room. Gaara walked Kaoru home. He could tell she was thinking about the offers made that day and asked her what she thought of the whole thing. Kaoru let out a sigh, "I don't know. I mean I know that Kankuro and Temari will both be a benefit to the council. You will make the best Kazekage Suna has had in quite a while. I'm just…Gaara I don't have the kind of personality it takes to be on the council."

"How so?"

"Think about it. I don't like confrontations and I'll have to get use to it on the council if I want my opinion heard and considered. Not to mention that I'm known as one of the most timid ninjas in Suna."

"You're right. But you're not as bad as you seem to think. You do stand up when something is important to you. I think you'll be just fine. Besides you'll have Kankuro, Temari, and me to support you."

She looked at him, "I guess you're right. It just makes me nervous to have all these people expecting so much from me."

They reached her clan's compound. He turned to face her, "Look, Kaoru, you are won of the kindest people I know. We probably need someone like you on the council. Someone that will consider other people's feelings in every decision just as we need someone like me that can put other's feeling aside for a decision."

Kaoru considered what he had said and admitted that he might have a point, "Alright. I'll join the council but only if you're the Kazekage."

He looked at her in surprise, "Why would that matter?"

"Because I'm loyal to you, Gaara-kun. No one else will have my loyalty."

He gave her one of his rare smiles. She felt her heart do little flip flops at the sight. Kaede came out of her house and walked up to them. She carried Kohaku in her arms and the little boy was sound asleep. The precious bundle was passed to Kaoru who invited Gaara over for a little while. Gaara was eyeing the bundle like it was a little green alien and decided it was best if he refused. He didn't feel like getting laughed at and that always seemed to happen when he got near the brat. Kaoru's mouth was already twitching and he hadn't even done anything yet. Gaara waved at the two of them then turned and walked to his own home.

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By the next morning everyone had heard of the council's decision. Most people didn't complain. No they didn't like Gaara anymore than they had before. It was just that they had to admit he had changed for the better. Now he probably would make a wonderful Kazekage. There were also many people in the village that accepted Gaara just fine. Yuki and Daisuke being two of them. They had dropped by to congratulate him and suggest that he take the position. There was one person that absolutely didn't like the council's decision.

"There's no way in hell I want him to be Kazekage," Hiroshi shouted.

Gaara glanced up at him. He was eating lunch with his siblings, Kaoru, Daisuke, Yuki, and Matsuri. The three girls had been playing with Kohaku who was loving the attention. Everyone had stopped what they were doing to look at Hiroshi with annoyance. It had been two years since the last time Hiroshi and Gaara had been on the same mission. Since the last time Hiroshi had left Gaara to die even though the red head had saved his life everyone had decided it was best if they didn't get placed on the same team anymore. Hiroshi had been happy with that since he still didn't like Gaara at all. Every time he turned around the bastard was with Kaoru. Hiroshi had been trying to get the medic's attention for almost three years and this freak gets it in less than a day.

"Did you say something, Hiroshi?" Kaoru asked in a falsely sweet tone.

"Yes. I don't want that bastard Gaara to be the Kazekage," Hiroshi responded with venom.

All the guys but Gaara suddenly stood up and started to attack Hiroshi. Before they could lay a finger on him a wall of sand got in their way. They looked back at Gaara. He simply shook his head at them, "It's a waste of time."

"But Gaara..." Kankuro started then let the sentence go unfinished. He got a defeated look on his face, "Alright."

All three of the men sat down. The wall of sand vanished and Hiroshi was glaring at them all. Before anyone could blink Hiroshi was sent flying across the room. Standing where he had been with anger burning in her eyes was Kaoru. Hiroshi had been unlucky enough to step on the only button that made her violent instantly. He had bad mouthed Gaara and Kaoru had never let anyone get away with that in her presence. Everyone looked at her in shock because they had never seen her hit someone so quickly.

"Don't ever insult Gaara-kun in front of me again, Hiroshi, or I swear I'll kick your ass," Kaoru said in a cold deliberate tone.

Gaara stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder. Kaoru glanced at him then sat down grumbling something about an idiot that should really get a brain. No one asked who the idiot was. Hiroshi got back up rubbing his head. He glared at them, "I won't follow him."

"You will if he gets selected as Kazekage," Yuki snapped at him.

Hiroshi seemed to see that he was on the losing end of the argument and stomped off. He hated Gaara. If he had his way the bastard would be dead. Unfortunately everyone else seemed to be falling for his tricks. Hiroshi knew that the freak was just pretending to be a good guy. The minute he became Kazekage he would go back to being a monster. When he did he would be ready. Hiroshi would get Gaara and the village would thank him for it.

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Yuri was sitting at her office at the hospital when someone knocked on the door. She looked up from her paperwork, "Come in."

The head medic smiled when she saw who it was. She hadn't seen Lady Kaede in several years but she remembered that the old bat was a feisty one. The old woman sat down across from Yuri with a smile, "I want to talk to you about something, Yuri."

"Oh, and what would that be?"

"I hear you're trying to find a home for a baby boy."

"Yes. I believe he's staying with your granddaughter right now and that she named him Kohaku."

"You would be right. I have a suggestion on where to put him," Kaede said with a grin.

Yuri had a feeling she knew where this was going and shared a conspiratorial grin with the old woman, "I'm listening."

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Yuki was sitting in Kaoru's kitchen across from Gaara. The head medic had something she wanted to talk to Kaoru about and Gaara was there for dinner. That wasn't abnormal. The youngest of the sand siblings could be found at Kaoru's house most of the time. Kaoru was cooking right now so she couldn't talk. Instead Yuri was talking to Gaara about his decision about whether or not to become the Kazekage.

"Have you made a choice?" she asked him.

"Yes. I've known what my choice would be the whole time."

"Then why the hell did you ask for the week to decide?!" Yuri demanded.

"So that I could see what everyone else's reaction would be."

"Oh. I suppose that makes sense."

Kaoru just walked in with three plates full of food. Gaara was staring at the kid sitting on his lap. Kaoru had handed Kohaku to Gaara when she left to cook. The kid was smiling up at Gaara as if the red head was his best friend in the entire world. For his part, Gaara couldn't wait to give the kid back to Kaoru. 'She gives me this kid just to torture me,' he thought to himself. Kaoru took Kohaku from Gaara and set him down in his baby chair. She placed the food in front of everyone and sat down to eat herself.

"So what did you want to talk to me about, Yuri-sensei?" Kaoru asked.

"Well, first how are you getting along with Kohaku?"

Kaoru looked confused but responded anyway, "Fine. He's no trouble at all."

"Good. That means his new home will love him," Yuri said.

Something flashed in Kaoru's eyes but nobody could tell what it was. Kohaku had been living with Kaoru for almost a month. She had gotten use to his presence. It was almost like losing a member of the family. She smiled, "So who are they?"

"You."

Kaoru blinked, "What?"

"I was hoping you would take him."

"Me?" Kaoru squeaked.

"Yup. He's already use to and likes you. I see no reason to take him away if you're willing to keep him."

Kaoru just stared for a moment then smiled brilliantly, "I'd love to keep him."

"That's good. If you need anything let me know. I don't want him to become a burden."

"He won't be. Besides I have my grandmother if I need anything. She already loves to babysit him. Then there's Gaara of course."

Gaara blinked then his eyes narrowed, "Don't you dare suggest I babysit."

The two women laughed in amusement at him. Gaara pretended not to listen to them. After Yuri left Gaara helped Kaoru set up one of the other bedrooms as Kohaku's room. It was late by the time they finished so Kaoru told her friend to sleep in one of her guest rooms. Gaara didn't sleep unless he was beside Kaoru but he chose not to argue. She was still thrilled because she got to keep Kohaku and he didn't want to ruin her happiness by arguing with her right now.

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The next day the week was up and the sand siblings and Kaoru were back in the council room to give their decision. Temari, Kankuro, and Kaoru all agreed that they would agree to join the council only if Gaara was the Kazekage. So they made Gaara tell them his choice first. The council men and women sat there looking at him, "Well, Sabaku no Gaara, have you decided?"

"I have. I accept the offer to be the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure."

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That's it. I hope you guys liked it. Now please review. 


	10. Konoha

I'm going to say sorry ahead of time because this chapter is shorter than my last two but I want to put Sakura's time in Suna in the next chapter so I cut it off. I hope you guys like this one anyways.

Disclaimer: Alright...I'll say it one more time...I don't own Naruto at all

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**Ch. 9: Konoha**

Gaara spent a lot of time getting settled into the Kazekage's office. There was a lot of paperwork to catch up on because there hadn't been a Kage to do it in two years. Kaoru and his siblings would sit with him for hours and discuss some of the things that needed to be done. It wasn't unusual for one of them to leave to go home then come back in the morning to find Gaara still at his desk. Kaoru worried about her friend. Sure he didn't sleep but he still shouldn't work so much. That's why she was thrilled when they had to go to Konoha to talk to Tsunade about some things. Gaara wanted to older woman's advice on a few of the problems that they weren't sure how to handle. Perhaps while he was there he could take a few days to rest.

As they walked into the gate of Konoha, Kankuro and Temari were trying to think of an excuse to keep Gaara and Kaoru in the same room so that their brother would get some sleep. They weren't having much luck. The two older sand siblings just hoped that Tsunade would be willing to help them out. The problem with that was they would need to talk to her before she gave them a place to sleep in. Then they came up with a plan to get her attention before then.

Tsunade smiled at them as they walked into her office, "Hello, Kazekage-sama, welcome to Konoha."

Three of the sand nin across from her grinned. Gaara just nodded his head. The boy was way to serious to only be 15 years old. Tsunade was about to say something when she saw Kankuro and Temari pointing to something on her desk. The two were being very careful not to let Kaoru or Gaara see them. The Hokage looked down. Laying on her desk was a letter that hadn't been there before. She picked it up and read. When she finished she was grinning.

"Alright. We are currently getting rooms for you ready. I'm sorry to say that there are only three rooms so two of you will have to share."

Gaara nodded in acceptance. Kaoru looked over at Tsunade with a shy smiled. Tsunade smiled at the girl. She remembered Kaoru from the kidnapping incident involving Gaara's student. The young medic had great promise in her chosen field just like Sakura. Kaoru was also very shy though.

Tsunade returned to the business at hand, "Now, Gaara, if you want to go ahead and tell me why you're here we can. Otherwise Sakura is standing right outside the door to show you to your rooms."

Gaara nodded then turned to his friends, "Go ahead. I'll catch up."

"Alright, Gaara," Temari agreed with a smile. This was perfect. They would be able to make sure it was Kaoru's room that Gaara ended up in a lot easier now.

The three of them headed out of the room and sure enough Sakura was leaning against the wall. The pink haired girl smiled and walked up to her friends. They all greeted each other and did the usual song and dance of friends you hadn't seen each other in a while. Sakura told them to follow her while they told her how things were at Suna. When Kaoru mentions Kohaku the Konoha medic was thrilled. She couldn't wait to go to Suna and visit. The three of them just kept talking about anything and everything until they reached the apartment that Tsunade had for them. Sakura followed Kaoru to one of the rooms.

"Hey Kaoru, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Well, have you heard from...Sasuke-kun?"

Kaoru smiled softly and shook her head, "No. I'm sorry, Sakura"

"It's alright. I was just hoping. We haven't heard from Naruto or Sasuke-kun since they left two years ago."

"You still love him, don't you?" Kaoru asked her friend.

Sakura didn't have to ask which he Kaoru was talking about. She had after helped Sakura keep him from joining Orochimaru two years ago.

_///flashback///_

_The morning after Sakura had woken up expecting Sasuke to be gone. That's when she had noticed she wasn't on the park bench. She was on a bed and Sasuke was sitting in the window. At first she had thought maybe she had dreamed it but then how had she ended up here? Sasuke had stood up and walked over to her, "You're awake."_

_Sakura had nodded then said timidly, "Umm, Sasuke-kun, where are we?"  
_

"_At my clan's compound. I couldn't just leave you on the bench."_

"_I thought you were leaving."_

"_I was but...your friend from Suna showed up," he had responded in annoyance._

"_Which friend...Kaoru?" she asked._

"_Yes. She shoved a few things in my face that I couldn't ignore."_

_Sakura felt a blossom of hope then, "Does that mean that you're staying?"_

_He nodded. Sakura had smiled and threw her arms around him. Sasuke had caught her and barely kept himself from falling over. The pink haired kunoichi whispered, "You won't regret it, Sasuke-kun. I'll get stronger so you won't have to worry and I'll help you get Itachi. I promise."_

_Sakura hadn't seen the soft look come into the Uchiha's eyes or the small smile. By the time she had pulled back they were gone. She left to go make them something for breakfast. He waited until she was gone before whispering, "I know, Sakura-chan. Thank you."_

_///End Flashback///_

Her voice was barely above a whisper when she told Kaoru, "Yes, I do."

Kaoru placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder, "They'll be alright."

"I know." Sakura smiled at Kaoru, "I can't believe you've adopted a little boy. I can't wait to see him. Who did you leave him with?"

"My grandmother. She babysits him when I need her to and she loves Kohaku to death," Kaoru stated with an amused smile.

The two of them were sitting on the bed at this point. Sakura said she was going to ask Tsunade if she could go back to Suna with them. The pink haired girl was sure she was due a vacation by now. Kaoru agreed with her. After another hour of discussing their lives at that moment Sakura said she had to get back to work. They made plans to meet for dinner that day and Sakura ordered Kaoru to bring the sand siblings. The pink haired girl left waving to her friend.

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The restaurant was now full of people. Several of the other ninja in Konoha had heard of the arrival of the sand siblings and had come to say hello. The groups consisted of Sakura, Teams 8, 10, and Team Guy. They were all laughing and talking about nothing in particular. The girls all agreed that Kaoru would have to bring Kohaku next time she came. The idea scared some of the Konoha males as much as it did Gaara. They all let out a sigh of relief as Kaoru said she couldn't because the kid was too young to travel. The Konoha girls with the exception of Ino got Temari and Kaoru to agree to help them get Ino and Shikamaru together. The two sand nin decided it would be fun so they agreed willingly.

The sand shinobi discovered that all of the Konoha ninja were now chunin with the exception of Neji. He was now a jonin. Temari and Kankuro were jonin but Kaoru had chosen to stay a chunin. And of course, Gaara was now a Kage. No one was surprised by this information. The sand siblings and Kaoru were surprised to learn that Sasuke and Naruto were now the only genin left that had taken that first chunin exam two years ago. They had expected them to have taken the exams at least. Kankuro grinned at he made plans to point out the fact that they were still genin to Sasuke and Naruto.

Outside, Tsunade, Shizune, Asuma, and Guy all stood watching the ninjas. They were glad the the group looked so relaxed. In their line of work a moment to relax was precious and should be taken where it could be gotten. It was a good thing that these young shinobi understood this and were taking advantage of this moment. Tsunade turned to the others, "I received word from Kakashi. He and Sasuke will be arriving in Suna in about three weeks."

"What is Kakashi doing with the boy?" Asuma asked.

"He's exposing him to different fighting styles. When Sasuke Uchiha comes back he should be able to adapt to any fighting style quickly and efficiently. Kakashi thinks that it will be good for a quick, intelligent boy like Sasuke," Tsunade answered.

"And what about Naruto?" Guy asked.

"I haven't heard anything from him or Jiraiya. I suspect they're doing just fine."

"You do realize that Sakura wants to go to Suna with her friends when they leave," Shizune commented. At Tsunade's nod she continued, "Are you going to give her a four week vacation or a shorter one?"

"I think I'll give her the four weeks. It's been a while since she's seen Sasuke," Tsunade said as she watched the group inside. Sakura was smiling at her friends and Tsunade wished she could see the look on her student's face when she got a look at the Uchiha again.

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The sand shinobi walked into their apartment that night. Kankuro and Temari quickly ran into their rooms and locked the door. Kaoru and Gaara blinked and then looked at each other. Neither could figure out why the two older chunin had been in such a hurry. It didn't take them long to figure it out. There were only three rooms so now Kaoru and Gaara were stuck in the same room unless they broke down the door to one of the other doors. They couldn't do that because then they would have to pay to get the damage repaired. Besides, it was rude to damage your hosts property. Gaara closed his eyes to keep his irritation hidden.

"I guess we're the ones that get to share a room," Kaoru stated nervously. Even if he closed his eyes she could feel his irritation and knew the reason for it. She personally didn't want to be Temari or Kankuro tomorrow morning.

Gaara shook his head, "I'll stay on the..."

Kaoru didn't let him finish, "Oh no you don't. You will sleep on a bed."

"Kaoru, one, I don't sleep. Two, we're not kids anymore. People will talk."

The medic gave a small smile, "Gaara-kun, I don't care about that and to be honest it won't matter to me. Besides you work too hard to spend the night on the couch or prowling around. Besides, if you don't tell and neither do I how are they suppose to find out?"

Before Gaara could argue Kaoru took his hand and pulled him behind her to the room. Gaara was relieved to see that the bed was large enough that they wouldn't have to even touch each other. Just like when they had been kids Kaoru climbed on one side and he sat on the other. Gaara didn't have any intention of falling asleep but Kaoru snuggled into the bed. As usual when she slept within reach of Gaara she grabbed his hand. Gaara looked down at her. There wasn't any expression on his face but those sea foam eyes softened slightly. The medic fell asleep almost instantly without letting go of Gaara's hand. Every Gaara tried to pull his hand away hers would tighten to keep him from going anywhere. Gaara felt reluctant amusement at the fact that, even though she was asleep, she was still arguing with him about where he would sleep. Gaara felt himself falling asleep and this time didn't fight it.

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They had been in Konoha ruffly a week. Kaoru was currently sitting in her and Gaara's room with Ino Yamanaka. As mentioned earlier, Kaoru had agreed to help get the confident blonde and her lazy best friend together. The entire village knew that the two of them had feelings for each other but every time someone mentioned it to either of them the two would deny everything. Kaoru was trying to figure out the best way to bring the subject up when Ino asked her a question that caught Kaoru off guard.

"Hey, Kaoru, have you ever been in love?" Ino asked in an unusually subdued tone. The blonde was normally confident and bossy so this side of her was not normal. That plus the question surprised her crimson eyed friend.

"What? Oh...well...I don't know. I think maybe I have been. Why?"

"Just curious. How do you know when you're in love?" Ino asked.

Kaoru blinked but continued to answer Ino's questions out of curiosity, "Well...it's not the same for everyone."

"What is it to you?"

"Umm, I've never thought about it before. Let's see." Kaoru looked up and tapped her chin with her finger. She answered the question slowly, "Well, I suppose it's when you are willing to do anything for one person. What it is doesn't matter as long as it makes them smile. Even if it costs you your one happiness it doesn't matter."

Ino looked down as she considered what Kaoru said. That's when Gaara walked into the room. He paused when he saw the two girls sitting in the room. The boy turned and began to walk away but Ino had other plans. Now she asked him, "Hey, Gaara-sama, what do you think love it?"

Gaara blinked, "I don't know."

"Oh come on. Kaoru told me what she thought. She thinks it's when your willing to do anything for a person even if it makes you unhappy. What do you think it is?"

The Kazekage looked at the blonde as if she had grown a second head. What in the world was he suppose to say to that? He hadn't ever understood what love was. Hell, he hadn't even thought he was loved until about two years ago. Before that he had never experienced love. How was he suppose to answer that question when he wanted the answer himself? His boice betrayed none of his thoughts as he responded, "I don't know what it is but my uncle said it was the hearts desire to serve someone precious to you. To watch over them. To care for them."

Ino looked thoughtful, "It sounds the same. Your definition and Kaoru's. Love is pretty much the desire to do something for one person no matter what."

"Pretty much," Kaoru agreed. She noticed Gaara frown at the door but he didn't look alarmed so she ignored it and focused on Ino, "Why all the questions, Ino?"

"Well, I think I...might be in love."

"With who?" Kaoru asked softly.

"With Shikamaru."

"Have you told him?"

"No. I'm afraid to. What if he doesn't feel the same? My heart will be broken into pieces," Ino said sounding panicked.

"Then I suppose you get up. Pick up the pieces to your shattered heart. Then you put one foot in front of the other. Move on with life the best you can until someone new comes and mends the broken heart your carrying," Kaoru said thoughtfully. Gaara looked at her. He had once been told that only love could heal a broken heart so what did you do when it was love that broke that heart? Kaoru continued with a small smile, "Being hurt is always a risk so you have a decision to make. Is telling him and finding out that he feels the same worth the risk of finding out that he doesn't?"

"I don't know," Ino whined.

"You don't have to know right now. Take some time to think about it then decide."

Ino nodded in agreement and got up to leave. When she suddenly stopped. Standing in the doorway was none other than Shikamaru Nara himself. He was gazing at Ino in complete and utter shock. Ino looked like a deer caught in headlights. Kaoru looked over at Gaara in curiosity. He shrugged meaning he didn't know how the genius had gotten there either. Gaara had sensed Shikamaru's presence but decided not to mention it.

"When did you get here, Shikamaru?" Kaoru asked him.

"A few minutes ago. Temari asked me to come over for something. She wasn't here so I came to ask if you knew where she was. I was going to leave but I heard Ino and she sounded upset."

Now Kaoru understood. Temari must have heard the conversation her and Ino were having and knew where it was going. So she asked Shikamaru to come over and just hoped he would hear how Ino felt. The medic had to give her friend credit for dumb luck. From the look on Shikamaru's face he had heard every word. Kaoru just wished he would say something already because he was making Ino nervous. Gaara had sat back and was now watching what was going on around him with some amusement.

"Oh hurry up and say something already. You two are driving me crazy," Kaoru demanded of the two.

Shikamaru was the first to say something, "Did you mean it, Ino?"

"M-mean w-what?"

Shikamaru suddenly sounded very angry, "Don't play with this, Ino Yamanaka. It's way to damn important. Now answer me."

Ino looked down and whispered, "Yes, I meant every word."

Shikamaru relaxed visibly and a smirk appeared on his face, "Good."

Ino's eyes flew to his face and Kaoru saw her temper start to spike, "Why you arrogant little..."

Shikamaru took her hand and lead her away while she berated him for being an arrogant jerk. The blonde told him that having a 200 IQ didn't give him the right to act like a know it all. She even got on his case for listening in on other people's conversations. Once the two of them were outside the room Ino was suddenly cut off by something. Everything was quiet for a moment then Kaoru and Gaara heard the door open then close. The dark haired girl turned to face Gaara, "Three guesses on how he made her shut up."

"I don't have to guess. There was only one way he could have shut her up."

"I wish I could have seen the look on her face when he kissed her," Kaoru said with a grin.

Gaara just shook his head at her. Then remembered why he had come here to begin with. "We're returning to Suna tomorrow. Sakura will be staying with us for about four weeks."

"She can stay at my house. I have plenty of room."

Gaara nodded then started to pack. Kaoru packed her own things. When Temari returned Koaru told her about the results of her plan. The wind manipulator was thrilled of course. She hadn't really expected it to work but was happy that it had. Now she could rub it in Shikamaru's face that she had been right about Ino's feelings for him. The group ate dinner and then went to their respective beds. Gaara had stopped arguing with Kaoru about the sleeping arrangement after the third day. He just couldn't win so Kaoru didn't even have to drag him to bed that day.

The next morning several of their friends came to say good bye. Sakura promised to write and let everyone know how she was doing. With that the group turned and headed back to Suna.

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Alright, that's it. I know it's short and I'm sorry. I'll try really hard to get the next chapter up by the weekend. The next one will have Sasuke in it so I hope that makes you feel better. Please review anyways and let me know what you think of this chapter.  



	11. Sasuke Arrives in Suna

I kept my promise. This chapter is longer than the last one and Sasuke is in it. I'll let you read it now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

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**Ch. 10: Sasuke Arrives in Suna **

The group arrived in Suna the next day. Kaoru was excited she had really missed Kohaku. The little boy had become a major part of her life. Sakura was just as excited as her friend because she would get to see the little boy and she really wanted a vacation. Gaara had even told them he would talk to Yuri so that Kaoru could have the month off with Sakura. The girls had thanked him and then the two had headed off to Kaoru's house. Gaara turned to Temari.

"I need your help," he sounded as if the sentence was being ripped from his mouth. Gaara didn't like admitting when he needed help. He had been hurt way too much to be happy with having to depend on someone else. Hell yesterday had been the first time he had mentioned his uncle since he had been about 5 years old.

It had surprised Temari too, "What do you need, Gaara?"

"Kaoru's birthday is coming," he commented.

At first Temari hadn't understood but then it clicked. At least she thought it had, "You want to get her a present?"

He just nodded. Temari couldn't believe it. Gaara actually wanted to get a present for someone. Just to show you how abnormal that was let me point out that Gaara is 15 years old and has never even thought about getting someone else a present. Temari had to restrain herself from checking Gaara's forehead to see if he had a fever. He was watching her with expectation and she realized she hadn't responded yet.

"Oh, sorry, Gaara. Do you have any clue about what you want to get her?"

"That's what I need help for. I don't know how to do this, Temari," Gaara said with barely contained frustration.

Temari smiled, "It's alright, Gaara. I'll help you. But can I ask why? You've been friends with her for two years and this is the first time I've seen you get a present for anyone. Why now?"

"I want to thank her and apologize," he grumbled. Gaara also wasn't big on admitting he had feelings. Some things never change and that was one of them. There were only four people in the world that saw this side of Gaara and they were Temari, Kankuro, Matsuri, and Kaoru. As far as everyone else was concerned he didn't have feelings. Even with those four people Gaara didn't open up easily or often. This was just too important to avoid it because he didn't want to show his feelings.

Temari nodded in understanding then said, "I'll walk around the stores with her and Sakura tomorrow. That way I can find out what she wants then I'll tell you. Alright, Gaara?"

He nodded and after a moment's hesitation said, "Thanks, Temari."

"Don't worry about it, Gaara."

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Meanwhile Sakura and Kaoru had reached the Tsukino compound. Kaede came out to greet them carrying a happy Kohaku. Kaoru relieved her grandmother of the boy and placed him on her hip. The three of them walked over to Kaoru's home with a smile. Sakura played with the little boy sitting in her lap while Kaoru cooked something for dinner. After a few hours Kaede went to her house and the two girls went to bed.

The next morning Temari came and dragged the girls out to shop. They each took turned carrying Kohaku who as usual was more than happy with the attention. They were looking around a jewelry store when Temari noticed Kaoru lingering around a certain case. The dark haired girl was looking at a necklace with a heart shaped ruby on it. The gem was as red as Kaoru's blood colored eyes. Temari smiled, "So you like the necklace."

Kaoru jumped at the sound of Temari's voice and gave her a sheepish grin, "Yeah. It reminds me of Gaara-kun."

Temari tilted her head to the side, "How so?"

"A heart is the symbol for love and that's what the symbol he has on his forehead means. It's also the same color as his hair," Kaoru said with a small smile. "Silly huh?"

"I don't think so," Sakura commented. At some point she had joined the other two by the necklace. "It's little things but they still count."

"Doesn't matter though. I can't have it. Do you see that price tag?" Kaoru asked on a wistful sigh. She suddenly smiled and turned to her friends, "Let's move on shall we?"

The next store they entered was a toy store. Sakura felt left out because she hadn't gotten Kohaku a present like everyone else had. They ended up browsing in the stuffed animals and Kaoru saw a little panda bear. It was so cute and she couldn't help but smile at it. Temari noticed it and added that to her mental file of things Kaoru liked. An idea began to form in her head. She smiled. The wind mistress couldn't wait to tell Gaara all about it.

The girls ate lunch together then Temari said good bye to the other two. After dropping Kohaku off with Kaede, Kaoru and Sakura were standing on the cliff over looking Suna. Kaoru was pointing out all the important areas when some not so welcomed company joined them. Hiroshi had noticed Kaoru and some other girl on the cliff. He decided to show up with his brother. Kaito took one look at the pink haired girl and grinned. The two boys walked up behind Kaoru and Sakura.

"Hello ladies," Hiroshi commented with a sly grin.

Now there is one thing that should never be done to a person standing on the edge of a cliff so tall that they can see the entire village. Startle them. Kaoru jumped in surprise and felt her self slip when her foot touched the ground again. She had fallen off the edge. Crimson eyes widened in fear as the world rushed past her in a blur of color. Someone yelled her name but Kaoru couldn't tell who it was. The medic called the first name that came to mind in her panicked state.

"Gaara!!!"

A few seconds later she landed on something soft. By this point Kaoru had shut her eyes tight to keep out the sight of everything rushing by while she fell. When it finally registered that she was no longer falling down Kaoru cracked an eye. She could see figures at the top of the cliff looking down at her. One was Sakura. The medic sat up and looked down. She had landed on cushion of sand. When she glanced over the edge she suddenly wished she hadn't. The sand had caught her floating hundreds of feet in the air. It began to move. Kaoru closed her eyes again in fear. A moment later a familiar voice said, "Kaoru, open your eyes."

At his order Kaoru's eyes snapped open and looked into the sea green eyes of Gaara. The fear caught up to her and she threw herself into his arms and buried her face in his chest. Gaara was at a loss. What was he suppose to do? One of his only friends was holding on to him for dear life and shaking so hard he was surprised he didn't rattle. Her voice was barely a whisper when she said, "I was so scared."

The fear in her voice made Gaara's instincts kick in and he wrapped his arms around her. By this point Sakura had come down from the top of the cliff followed by Hiroshi and Kaito. The twins didn't look happy to see Gaara. Sakura was thrilled. He had just saved her friend so nothing in this world could make her any happier to see the Kazekage. Kaoru's shaking began to subside. Sakura asked anxiously, "Is she alright, Gaara-sama?"

"I believe so."

Sakura reached out a hand but looked at Gaara for permission before touching Kaoru's arm. At the kage's nod she checked Kaoru for any serious injuries. The Suna medic just had a few bruises from bumping the cliff but that was it. Sakura let out a relieved sigh, "She'll be alright."

"I'll take her home," Hiroshi stated and started to reach for Kaoru. Gaara felt her trembling increase. Hiroshi had was almost to the girl in Gaara's arms when a walk of sand came up and blocked him. Hiroshi's golden eyes looked up into Gaara's narrowed sea foam eyes. He raised a silver eyebrow, "Is there a problem, Gaara?"

"I'll take her."

"What?" Hiroshi demanded in disbelief. Gaara didn't bother answering. He picked Kaoru up bridal style and turned. Now Hiroshi wasn't going to just let Gaara go. He walked up in front of the red head, "Now wait a minute. We all know you're too busy as Kazekage to take proper care of Kaoru right now. Let me take her and I'll make sure she'll be alright. Besides, she needs a human. Not a emotionally stunted monster."

Sakura exploded, "Don't you dare call Gaara a monster. He was the one that just saved Kaoru while you were the reason she fell. You don't have any right to criticize Gaara just because you didn't get to be a knight in shining armor. Besides, Gaara makes a better knight than you do anyway."

"That's not why I don't like him," Hiroshi shouted back.

"That's enough," Gaara snapped. "Move, Hiroshi."

The man wasn't dumb enough to mess with Gaara in the mood the kage was in so he moved. Gaara walked right by him without even a glance. Sakura followed after them. They reached Kaoru's house. Sakura headed to Kaede's home to pick up Kohaku. Gaara headed straight to Kaoru's room and set her down on the bed. The medic looked up at him. At that moment Kaoru couldn't tell what he was feeing which was odd. In the last two years she had always been able to tell what he felt. That meant this feeling was really strong and directed at her. She looked down, "I'm sorry, Gaara-kun."

"For what?" For the life of him he couldn't imagine what she was sorry for. Then again all he could think about is what would have happened if he hadn't been taking a walk at that moment. He had heard her call his name and when he looked up his heart had stopped. She was falling. The sand then acted of its own will and saved her. It had taken Gaara a moment to realize that he had saved her then he had lowered her down.

"I shouldn't have fallen apart like that."

His eyes narrowed and he took her chin to make her look at him, "Kaoru, you're allowed to fall apart." Then he added dryly, "Especially when you just fell a couple hundred feet off a cliff."

Kaoru gave him a shaky smile. He stood back up and turned to the door. Sakura came through it with little Kohaku in her arms and Kaede behind her. Kaede ushered all of them to her house and she made dinner for them. Kaoru was still a little shaken but otherwise she was just fine. When they stepped outside to go back to her house it was pouring so she told Gaara he was staying at her house. He didn't object. The demon in him didn't like being wet and he couldn't control wet sand. Between the two he was more than happy to stay as dry as possible.

It was around midnight when Gaara heard something coming from Kaoru's room. As usual he wasn't asleep. Instead he was down stairs looking at the books in the library. He was hoping for something to occupy his mind. At first he dismissed the sound as movement in her sleep but then it happened again. Curiosity and worry had him in front of her door with a hand poised over the handle. He had almost convinced himself to go back down stairs because he was being paranoid when a small whimper reached his ears. He rushed in and woke Kaoru up. Her crimson eyes focused on him, "Gaara-kun, what are you...?"

He answered before she could finish, "Nightmare."

"You heard me." He nodded. She let out a small sigh, "I'm sorry, Gaara-kun. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"Stop being sorry, Kaoru. You're my friend. I may be knew to this friend thing but I do know you're suppose to help your friends."

She gave him a small smile, "You're right. It's just...I don't like to be a bother."

"You're not." She smiled at him. Curiosity had him asking, "What was it about?"

"The day I found my parents and..." she trailed off and looked away.

"And what?"

"And the day you pushed me away as kids," she said meeting his eyes again. Gaara blinked in surprise. Kaoru explained, "Back then you had been my best friend and even now I still don't understand what happened that night. I just know that something exploded and Yashamaru had been killed by it. You were so sad and angry. Then when I tried to help you wouldn't let me. It...hurt. I had lost something important and I knew it."

Gaara sat back, "He tried to kill me."

Kaoru blinked, "What?"

"Yashamaru. He had tried to kill me."

Gaara told her everything that had happened that night. He didn't know why he did it. For some reason it just seemed...right. Kaoru listened to every word without interrupting. There were a few times he could see the anger burning in her eyes and other times she looked so sad it hurt him. After he finished Kaoru wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so sorry, Gaara-kun."

"You have nothing to be sorry about," he said uncomfortably. Gaara wasn't use to getting so many hugs and this was his second one that day.

"You know he was wrong don't you?"

"Who?"

"Yashamaru was wrong. You are loved. Temari, Kankuro, Matsuri, and me. We all care about you. Your uncle was an idiot."

Gaara couldn't help the quick smirk that crossed his face at her comment about Yashamaru. He sobered quickly though. If he showed emotions he would have hugged Kaoru back or smiled longer. Instead he stepped away and moved to the other side of the bed. There he sat down and leaned against the headboard. This was the habit. She was suppose to lay down and go to sleep and out of habit she'd take Gaara's hand. He wondered when he had gotten use to that part. There was a time it startled him every time she did took his hand. Now he expected it. How odd. But none of that happened. Instead Kaoru tilted her head and said, "We both know you're going to fall asleep so at least lay down will ya."

He glanced at her with a incredulous look. She sighed and reached out and tugged on him insistently. Gaara swore he was going to stay sitting up but for the second time in his life his body betrayed him. It laid down on the bed and placed his hands behind his head. Then crossed his legs at the ankles. Gaara was mentally cursing his traitorous body when he felt something warm on his left side. He glanced down and saw Kaoru snuggled up against him. She was already asleep. He couldn't believe this was happening. How the hell had he ended up in this position? Right she had a nightmare and he had to help. His body was up to its tricks again because Gaara was suddenly feeling very tired. A few minutes later Sabaku no Gaara fell into a sound sleep.

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Three weeks passed. Sakura and Kaoru were sitting in a restaurant waiting on the sand siblings. They were all suppose to eat lunch together. The girls had arrived early and were now just talking about nothing in particular. Hiroshi and Kaito walked up to their booth. The two of them were relentless. No matter how many time the girls told them to go away they kept coming back. The medical nins let out identical annoyed sighs.

"Hello, Kaoru. How has your day been?" Hiroshi asked sliding in beside Kaoru. For her part Kaoru glared at him and didn't say a word.

Kaito slid in beside Sakura, "Me and my brother were hoping you girls would eat lunch with us and look. Here you are waiting for us and everything."

"We weren't waiting for you," Sakura stated.

"Then who are you waiting for? Certainly not that freak," Kaito stated.

"The only freaks I know are you two," Sakura said sweetly.

"Well why don't all four of us go out and we can show you that we aren't freaks," Kaito suggested.

Hiroshi agreed, "Yeah. I want to show you that you're wasting your time with Gaara, Kaoru."

"No," Kaoru answered.

Hiroshi grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the booth. Kaito followed suite only with Sakura. The girls shot the men glares. Sakura would have liked nothing more than to punch him but she was a shinobi from a different country. She would probably get into trouble so she would save that for a last resort. The men grinned and Hiroshi said, "We don't take no for an answer."

"Well, you're going to have to because me and Sakura aren't going go give you a different answer," Kaoru spat.

The twins started to drag them out of the restaurant when someone hit Kaito and sent him flying across the room. There was a loud crash as he hit the wall. Sakura blinked then looked at the person who had hit the jerk. He hadn't changed much. His blue black hair was still spiked in the back with to stands framing his face. The leaf villages headband rested on his forehead. He wore a white, long sleeved shirt that wasn't quite closed all the way so it displayed his chest muscles. His pants were black and so were the boots on his face. Those onyx eyes turned to her and a smirk formed on his face, "In trouble again, Sakura."

The pink haired girl was too happy to see him to get angry. She threw her arms around his neck with a cheer, "Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke allowed her to hug him without complaint. He even wrapped one arm around her waist. The Uchiha hadn't admitted it until now but a part of him had missed this pink haired kunoichi. There had been times during the last two years when he wanted nothing more than to return home for no better reason than to hear her call his name in that happy voice she always used when speaking to him. Now here she was. He wondered if Kakashi had planned this. His masked sensei walked up to them with a smile, "Well hello, Sakura. Shouldn't you be in Konoha?"

"I'm on vacation," she told them happily. Then frowned as she realized that the other guy hadn't let Kaoru go yet.

Suddenly both Kakashi and Sasuke focused on Hiroshi. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he said, "I would let her go if I were you."

"And just who the hell are you?" Hiroshi demanded.

"Sasuke Uchiha. Let Kaoru go."

"I don't think I will. This is none of your business," Hiroshi said as he tightened his grip on Kaoru's arm. Kaoru winced in pain. The girl was seriously beginning to wonder if he was trying to cut off circulation to the rest of her arm. She just knew there would be a bruise there later. His grip tightened more when Sasuke's Sharingan activated.

"Ow, Hiroshi that hurts," Kaoru stated.

Hiroshi didn't get a chance to say anything else. There was sand wrapped around the wrist that was holding Kaoru's arm and each of his fingers were pulled open one by one by an invisible force. They all turned towards the door. Gaara stood there with his siblings. All three of them were giving Hiroshi a murderous stare. Kankuro had a hand up which explained what was forcing Hiroshi to release Kaoru. The minute she could Koaru tore herself away from Hiroshi and ran towards Gaara. He stepped in front of her to block her from Hiroshi's view. The message was clear. Hiroshi was to leave Kaoru alone.

Kaito had gotten back up and was standing next to his brother. The boy was looking at Sakura with a hungry expression. Sasuke wrapped and arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. He watched Kaito with his Sharingan eyes. That message was even clearer. 'Mine,' was written all over Sasuke's actions. Kaito gulped. His jaw was still sore from that punch Sasuke had given him earlier. The two brothers ran off as fast as they could before Sasuke and Gaara got even angrier.

Sakura looked up at Sasuke with her head tilted to the side. She had never known him to act this way. Kaoru was the only one other than Sasuke that knew just how confused he was by his own actions. He stepped back and smirked at his teammate, "Saving you again, Sakura. You really should quit getting into trouble."

"Hey, I could have taken that guy. I just didn't want to get into trouble for punching an ally nation's shinobi," Sakura said indignantly.

The whole group left the restaurant and went to the sand siblings home. They lived in the Kazekage's mansion. It was one of the many benefits that came to being a Kage and/or being related to one. Your home was provided for you. They all sat around as Kakashi and Sasuke told them about their last two years. Well, Kakashi did. Sasuke just sat there mostly. He still wasn't much of a talker. This didn't surprise anyone really. Kaoru got up to go get something to drink.

"So how long are you planning on staying in Suna?" Sakura asked them.

"About a week. We're meeting up with Naruto in a few months then we'll be returning to Konoha," Kakashi answered.

Temari glanced around then said, "That means you'll be here for Kaoru's birthday. We're planning a surprise party for her. You guys have to come."

"Of course we'll come," Kakashi said with a smile. Sasuke nodded in agreement. They changed the subject when Kaoru came back in. Kaoru and Sakura left a few hours later. Sasuke and Kakashi were invited to stay in the Kazekage's manor and they accepted of course. Everyone but Kaoru had plans to meet the next day to plan for her party. None of them could wait.

Kankuro was heading upstairs with Sasuke and Kakashi when he remembered something. With a grin he said, "So, Sasuke, I hear your still a genin. Do you realize you and Naruto are the only ones left that hadn't taken the exam again? That means I outrank you."

There was a loud crash. Sasuke walked into his room slamming the door behind him. Kakashi walked into his room shaking his head. Kankuro was laying of the floor with a bump on his head. The poor idiot didn't think before messing with Sasuke.

Gaara walked into his room and checked on the present he had gotten for Kaoru. Now that he had bought it he was paranoid something would happen to it before he could give it to her or worse she wouldn't like it. The Kazekage let out a frustrated sigh. He put the present back in the bag coming to the decision that this friend stuff was hard work. He just hoped she liked it.

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that it for this chapter. the next chapter will cover her birthday and we get to find out what Gaara got Kaoru if you hadn't figured it out already. Anyways don't forget to review. 


	12. Happy Birthday Kaoru

Alright I've finally updated. I'm sorry that it took me so long. I went home with my roommate this weekend and didn't have any internet for my laptop. Sorry to all of you. I do have ch 12 ready and i'm working on ch 13.

Disclaimer: i no own naruto

Now that i've said that one with the story

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**Ch. 11: Happy Birthday Kaoru**

Kaoru knew something was up. Her friends were all acting very strange. She had to return to the hospital that week because Yuri said she didn't have enough medics to help out. Kaoru didn't mind especially since Sakura was spending all the time she could with Sasuke. Normally Kaoru would have dismissed the strange behaviors of her friends but even Gaara and Sasuke were acting odd. The medic knew that if Gaara and Sasuke acted odd something was seriously up. She couldn't even tell what was wrong. The girl just knew that something was up.

Kaoru had just walked out of the hospital when she saw Kankuro, "Hey Kankuro!"

He turned and saw her and wave of momentary panic came off him. The puppet man didn't want her to see something he was carrying. She saw him quickly hide whatever it was behind his back. He grinned at her, "Hey Kaoru. How was work?"

She gave him a suspicious look, "It was fine. What's wrong? You're being too nice."

"What?! I've only said two sentences."

"I know but you asked me about work. You never ask me that unless I just look terrible."

"Maybe you look terrible," he grumbled.

Kaoru didn't now whether she should be insulted or not. The truth was Kankuro had his nice moments but he was a rascal at heart. A day didn't go by where he didn't pick on someone or start a fight over nothing. Gaara and Temari were constantly keeping an eye on him so they could prevent him from doing something too stupid. Now here he was hiding something and telling her she looked terrible. Her head tilted to the side, "What are you hiding, Kankuro?"

"I'm not hiding anything."

"Have you forgotten about my kekkei genkai already? I know you're nervous about me seeing something. What is it?"

"I can't tell you. Temari will kill me."

Kaoru wasn't sure she believed him but decided to let it slide this time. If Temari really had told him not to tell anyone then she would be upset if Kaoru made him tell her. Kankuro did offer to walk her home but the medic shook her head, "I'll be fine. You go one home yourself. I'll see ya tomorrow, Kankuro."

Once Kaoru was out of sight Kankuro let out a relieved breath. He pulled the picture out from behind his back. He was very glad she hadn't seen it. Kankuro had spent days trying to figure out what to get her for her birthday. The girl was harder to shop for than Gaara simply because she never seemed to want anything. She was always happy with what she had and rarely asked for more. Then Gaara gave him the idea for this. The puppeteer continued running back home so he could wrap it. The party was tomorrow and Temari had threatened his manhood if he didn't help decorate so he didn't have much time.

Meanwhile Kaoru was wondering what was going on. When she had gotten home there was a note on her counter from Sakura and her grandmother telling her that they had gone out and would be back at dinner time. Kaoru had shrugged but wondered about it. What was everyone hiding? They were all deathly afraid she would find out what it was. Every time she got near any of them she could feel the nervous waves rolling off of them. The only one that remained calm was Kaede and that was because she knew how to hide from their clan's kekkei genkai. She had it too after all. Gaara was calmer than the rest of them but he was still nervous. His reasons were different but because he was so calm she couldn't tell what they were. She just knew they were different. Sakura and Kaede returned with vague excused about where they had been. Everyone ate dinner then went to bed. Kaoru fell asleep wondering what in the world was going on.

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Kaoru was walking out of the hospital the next day. She smiled when she saw Gaara leaned up against the wall by the door waiting for her. He stood up and motioned for her to follow him. Curiosity began to burn in her as she followed behind him. It didn't take her long to figure out where they were going. The Kazekage's manor looked just as it always had. Kaoru was beginning to wonder what they were there for. She couldn't think of anything that Gaara would need her for and Temari or Kankuro would have come an got her themselves if they needed her. The medic decided it was a dinner thing. They must have all wanted to get together for dinner that night and sent Gaara to get her.

She began to doubt the theory when she walked in. It was completely dark. Kaoru didn't notice that she had stepped closer to Gaara or that she had grabbed his hand in reassurance. This reminded her too much of arriving home and finding her parents when she was a child. Gaara glanced at her in concern. He had told Temari that turning the lights off was a bad idea but the woman didn't want to listen to him. It wasn't like he could tell her why. Kaoru didn't want anyone to know that she was afraid of what she would find in dark places. He told himself he was just being a good friend when he felt her hand grab his and he didn't pull away. She was scared and needed comfort and he couldn't deny her. Not when he could feel the slight tremble in the hand he held.

He led her into the living room. Lights flicked on and people yelled, "Surprise."

Kaoru yelped as she looked around at all the faces. She smiled at all her friends, "What's the party for?"

Kankuro busted out laughing, "Don't tell me you forgot."

The medic tilted her head to the side in confusion, "Forgot what?"

"Your birthday," Kankuro said in between laughs. A couple of other people chuckled and others gave their forgetful friend an indulgent smile. Gaara hid his smile behind his hand so that no one would see.

Kaoru blinked a few times then suddenly laughed, "Ok, I won't tell you that I forgot."

Temari had out done herself this time. There was laughter and dancing everywhere. All of Kaoru's friends were there including the ones from Konoha. Daisuke and Yuki were there too. The decorations were wonderful. Of course the cake was Kaoru's favorite, chocolate. Kaoru stuck close to Gaara because if left on his own he wouldn't socialize one bit. She even dragged him out for a dance or two. The medic was careful to chose slow songs so that he wouldn't feel too uncomfortable. There was less dancing experience required for those so they weren't nearly as bad. Gaara indulged her simply because she looked so happy. He didn't want to be the one to ruin it.

Then came the presents. Kaoru gasped when she saw how many there were. She had never in her wildest dreams expected that many presents. Everyone found her reaction amusing. "You guys didn't have to get me presents."

"But we wanted to," Sakura stated with a smile.

"What kind of birthday is it if you don't get presents?" Tsunade demanded slightly drunk. She had discovered the sake a little while ago.

"I didn't need so many," Kaoru stated in amazement. "Did everyone get me something?"

Everyone nodded. Kaoru began to unwrap them. She loved them. For the most part the guys got her weapons and the girls got her clothes and jewelery. There were exceptions. Sasuke and Sakura got her pictures of all her friends in Konoha. Tsunade and her grandmother got her several new books that she had wanted for a while now. Kankuro's present was a new picture of the sand siblings, Baki, and Yuri all together. The medic actually gave him a hug much to Kankuro's embarrassment. Temari had gotten her a sketch book because the brithday girl actually liked to draw. Baki and Yuri's present was a book on all the recent development in medical ninjutsu. Kakashi had gotten her a scrapbook for Kohaku to put things like his first words or when he took his first step in. The girl was so happy that she gave the jonin a kiss on the cheek. Not that Kakashi was going to complain. Kaoru had thanked everyone with a large smile.

Suddenly a gloating voice said, "Well, I see that the freak didn't get Kaoru a present."

Everyone turned to see Hiroshi. He was standing next to his brother with a smirk on his face. The two of them looked thrilled with this discovery. Kaoru's smile faded. This pissed Gaara off. Hiroshi had been nothing but a thorn in his side since day one. Now as if that was enough to annoy him but to add injury to insult this bastard was telling him he didn't get Kaoru a present. He did have a present for her damn it. He just didn't want to make a spectacle of it. The kage was going to give it to her later when there wasn't anyone else to see him. Gaara had gone shopping and was at a party willingly just to make Kaoru happy. Now this bastard came along and ruined it. Gaara didn't like wasting effort and for him this was effort. Not to mention the only person who had ever excepted him as he was from the very beginning had been happy but then this bastard had come and ruined it.

"Hiroshi, I recommend you leave now," Gaara said in a dangerous tone. People began to back away from him. No one had heard him sound like that in two years. It frightened them because that tone usually meant someone was going to die soon. Kaoru looked at her friend anxiously.

Hiroshi didn't seem to realize the danger he was in and kept talking, "I don't think so. This is Kaoru's party. Besides, it's not my fault you didn't get her anything."

Kaoru decided she had better do something or Gaara might kill Hiroshi. As much as she would like to see the bone head die she didn't want it to be Gaara that killed him. The Kazekage had gone through a lot to prove to everyone that he wasn't the monster they thought he was and she didn't want him to ruin it especially over something like a present she didn't have to have anyway. Fear and anger made her tone sharp, "Go away, Hiroshi. Gaara-kun doesn't have to get me anything. Just being here with me is enough so don't you dare bother him."

"It should bother you that he didn't get you a present, Kaoru. Friends get presents for their friends."

Kaoru glared, "Depends on the friend. For Gaara-kun coming to this party is a big deal. He doesn't like them but he's here to spend my birthday with me and that's what counts. Now go away."

"Temari and Kankuro probably made him come. He doesn't care about anyone, Kaoru. When are you going to see that?" Hiroshi demanded.

Kaoru didn't get a chance to answer. The threads of Gaara's temper had snapped. Sand surrounded Hiroshi and began to close in. Everyone shouted at Gaara to get control of himself. But nothing was reaching him. He was sick of it. Every time he tried to do the right thing someone always had to question him. Why couldn't they accept that he had changed? Was it so hard to believe that he wasn't a monster? Hiroshi wasn't the only one that still treated him this way. Gaara could see it and he heard it. The people of the village glancing at him with fear or hatred. Some had come to accept him but several of them still didn't want to even look at him. He'd had enough.

Kaoru saw what was happening and did the only thing she could think of. She rushed up and stood in front of Hiroshi. The sand stopped. Kaoru looked at Gaara with pleading in her eyes. Eyes the color of blood he thought and not for the first time. It was so odd to see eyes that color look so...kind. Blood was something most didn't want to see because that always involved pain. They hated blood. The red liquid was a symbol of that hatred and the pain that came with it. Shukaku even thought it was odd that those eyes never held hatred in them. They just had the kindness that Kaoru was known for.

"Gaara-kun, you have to stop. Don't mess everything up on Hiroshi. He's not worth it," Kaoru pleaded. Hiroshi now realized the danger he was in and had the brains not to move. Gaara's eyes didn't leave Kaoru's. For a moment everyone thought he wasn't going to listen but then the sand melted away and returned to the gourd on his back. Everyone let out a breath of relief. Kaoru walked up to him slowly and took his hand with a smile.

Baki walked over to Hiroshi with a frown and pulled the boy and his brother out of the manor. The two boys didn't complain. As far as they were concerned they were lucky to be alive and they would be right. If it hadn't been for Kaoru they would be dead right now. They were lucky that she wasn't afraid of Gaara and was willing to get in his way.

Back at the party everyone just stood there for a moment. They were looking at Gaara in concern and in some cases fear. It didn't take long for the kage to get sick of that and walk out. Temari and Kankuro exchanged worried glances. Kaoru followed him. When she finally caught up to him she had to grab his hand to make him stop walking. "Gaara-kun..."

"Leave me alone, Kaoru. I don't want anyone around me right now," he stated as he started to pull away.

Kaoru wasn't having that though. She grabbed hold of his hand with both of hers to keep him from going anywhere. He looked back at her and saw her glaring at him. This surprised him. In all the time he had known Kaoru she had never glared at him. He hadn't made her angry or upset since she was placed on their team when they had been genin. She had always smiled at him or had concern in her eyes for him. Now she was angry with him.

"Don't you dare, Gaara." Now that she was dropping th -kun Gaara found himself worried. Kaoru's voice was shaking as she continued, "I'm your friend and this time I'm not a five year old girl. I'm not making the same mistake twice. I'm not going anywhere when I know you need me."

Now he understood. She was afraid he was pushing her away again. Gaara faced her fully and pulled her close. It felt odd to be the one giving the hug. Kaoru had always been the one giving the hugs and, other than her, no one had ever hugged him. Now for the first time in his life he was giving the hug. It was...nice. She seemed to relax a little as if the hug helped her though he couldn't understand why it would. He really didn't see the point. How did simply holding someone make everything better? He didn't know but the fact was it did...even for him.

"Kaoru, I'm not pushing you away. I'm just angry and didn't want to take it out on you."

Crimson eyes closed with relief. She had been afraid that history was repeating itself but she wasn't going to let it. This time she wouldn't leave when she knew he needed her. Then he had hugged her. That surprised her. Gaara wasn't the only one that knew he didn't give hugs. She buried her face in his shoulder as he told her that he wasn't pushing her away again. The two of them just stood there for a moment. To Kaoru it was as if time had stopped then it started again when Gaara pulled back. She smiled, "I'm sorry. It's just...I was afraid that..."

He didn't let her finish, "I know."

Gaara took her hand and pulled her along behind him. He wanted to give her the present. It was odd that he felt so nervous yet excited at the same time. Did people always feel this way when giving things to others that they weren't sure they'd like? He could be the only one. After all he was new to this friendship deal. He was still learning all the rules that came with the package. Kaoru followed behind him. She smiled at the nervous excitement coming from her friend. The black mood that had made him leave the party was gone and was replaced by a childlike wonder. He hid it well though. If it wasn't for her kekkei genkai she wouldn't even know that he felt anything other than boredom.

They went back inside the manor but Gaara avoided the party. Instead he led Kaoru upstairs and into his room. Kaoru took a moment to look around. She had only been in here once since they had become friends again and didn't really get a good look. The room was mostly what she had expected it to be. It was sparsely furnished and didn't have much in the way of decorations. On the bed was a little stuffed teddy bear. Kaoru recognized it and smiled. Gaara use to take that thing everywhere with him when they were little.

He only had two pictures in the entire room. One was their team picture from when they'd first become genin. The other was of a little girl and boy. The girl was hugging the boy around the waist with a laugh as her crimson eyes looked up at his face. The boy was looking astonished. As if he didn't know what to make of the girl holding on to him. It was the exact same picture that sat on Kaoru's nightstand. She smiled.

She turned to face Gaara when he came out of the closet. He was holding a bag and suddenly seemed very hesitant. Kaoru walked over to him in curiosity. For a moment he didn't move. She thought he was going to put it back in the closet when he shoved it at her. The medic blinked at it then up at him. He growled, "Open it already."

She did and smiled. Her eyes softened as she pulled out the cute stuffed panda bear. It looked up at her with sea foam puppy dog eyes. It was so cute. She started to look up at Gaara when something shiny around the bears neck caught her eye. When she looked at it she gasped. Part of her couldn't believe what she was seeing. She pulled the silver chain off the bears neck to get a closer look. Sure enough hanging of the bottom of the chain was a heart shaped blood red ruby. She looked up at Gaara with wide eyes. Her voice was a whisper, "Gaara-kun."

Gaara was suddenly very afraid. Why was she looking at him like that? He suddenly couldn't take it anymore. His tone was hesitant when he asked, "Do you like it?"

Kaoru blinked at him then smiled. She threw her arms around his neck and he barely kept himself from falling backwards. "Of course I like it, Gaara-kun. I just couldn't believe you would get me something like this. I love it. Thank you so much."

Everything was suddenly okay. Kaoru was happy again. That made everything all better. He felt some part of him relax at the realization. It had upset him to know she was so unhappy earlier. Kaoru put the necklace on and put it under her shirt. The ruby rested between her breast with a comforting weight. There was a sound at the door and they glanced over. Temari and Kankuro were there smiling.

"I see you gave her your present. That's good. Come on back the party you two. We're waiting on you," Temari stated.

"Yeah. Temari wouldn't let us continued Kaoru's birthday party without Kaoru. Can you imagine that?" Kankuro asked as if he couldn't.

Kaoru smiled, "No, Kankuro, I can't imaging that at all. But don't worry. We're coming. Right, Gaara-kun?"

He nodded and allowed her to pull him out of the room. Everyone continued to have a good time until exhaustion made them go home. Gaara and Sasuke walked their two medical nins back to Kaoru's. Sakura and Kaoru were chattering away about everything that had happened at the party. Both fully agreed that Hiroshi needed his ass kicked. Kaoru had tripped and was caught by Gaara's sand. She smiled sheepishly and thanked him. Sakura's eyes focused on something around Kaoru's neck.

"Hey, Kaoru, were did you get that?" the pink haired kunoichi asked pointing at it.

Kaoru looked at what she was pointing at. The ruby had fallen out from underneath her shirt and was sparkling in the moonlight. Kaoru couldn't help but smile, "It was a present."

Sakura had a suspicion that she knew where it had come from. Kaoru was also carrying a panda bear in her arms. Occasionally she would nuzzle it with a soft smile. Only one person could give the Suna medic a present that would mean that much to her. His name was Gaara. Sakura smiled. Looks like Hiroshi was wrong again. Gaara did get his friend something for her birthday.

The girls said good bye to the guys and went inside. Kaoru looked thoughtful, "Sasuke has change hasn't he. I mean he's still quiet and distant but it's different now. It's more of a 'I just don't like to talk' than a 'I hate everyone' kind of quiet."

"I know. It's nice," Sakura said with a soft smile.

"You definitely got it bad for him, Sakura," Kaoru stated with an amused smile.

Sakura eyed Kaoru, "Not any worse than you."

"What?!"

"Don't play dumb. I know you're in love with Gaara. Admit it."

Kaoru was about to deny it when suddenly she didn't see why she should. It wasn't like Sakura was going to run off and tell him. No one else was here to listen. Why not tell Sakura? Kaoru gave a small smile, "You're right. I'm in love with, Gaara-kun."

Sakura blinked, "I didn't know that you knew."

Kaoru chuckled, "I've known how I felt about him for a while now."

"When did you figure it out?"

"Shortly after we were placed on the same team. My clan's kekkei genkai revolves around emotions and the reasons behind them. It didn't take me long to figure out mine and why they were there."

"Do you know how long you've loved him?" Sakura asked with curiosity.

"Probably since I saw him sitting on that swing when we were five years old."

"That's about how long I've loved Sasuke-kun. Since the first day I saw him all those years ago." The two girls smiled at each other in understanding. Sakura commented, "We're pathetic, ya know? We're both madly in love with men who will never feel the same."

Kaoru turned and smiled at Sakura, "I know but we love them anyway. And who knows. Maybe one day?"

"Yeah. Who knows?" Sakura agreed. "I mean if Ino found a guy who can put up with her whose to say we can't get the ones we want."

Kaoru busted with laughter, "That's mean, Sakura."

"But true."

"Whatever you say. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

"Night."

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Hiroshi and Kaito were waiting for someone on the cliff over looking Suna. They didn't have to wait for long. Two figures wearing hats and cloaks walked up to them. One looked as if it was hunched over and the other was tall. Hiroshi spoke first, "You said you could get rid of Sabaku no Gaara if we helped you."

"Of course we can," one of the men answered.

Kaito and Hiroshi exchanged glances then nodded. Kaito spoke, "What do you need?"

"What is the Kazekage's weak spot?"

The twins blinked for a moment then looked thoughtful. It had never occurred to them that Gaara had a weakness. Now that it had they couldn't think of one. "I don't think he had one. Only one person had ever beat Gaara and he wouldn't help you."

"Everyone had a weakness. Whether its a spot on their body, a painful memory, or a person that matters to them," the hunched over figure said.

"Well, there is one person that could probably affect the Kazekage that strongly but I don't think doing anything to her would be good for your health. Not only does she matter to Gaara but the entire village loves her and even the people from Konoha adore her," Hiroshi said.

"It doesn't matter as long as they can't find us."

The twins grinned and Hiroshi said, "Alright then. Sabaku no Gaara's weakness is a medical nin named Kaoru Tsukino."

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That's it for now. I'm going to edit the next chapter and get it posted for you. I hope you enjoyed this one. Now please review and let me know what you think or I won't put up the next chapter until tomorrow 


	13. Kidnapped

Enough people updated that I decided to go ahead and update it.

Disclaimer: I no own Naruto

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**Ch. 12: Kidnapped**

An entire year passed. Naruto and Sasuke had both returned to Konoha much to everyone's pleasure. Kaoru had gone to visit them briefly but didn't stay long. She was never far from Gaara these days. If left alone he wouldn't take care of himself and Kaoru couldn't allow that. Gaara was always working these days. That wasn't such a surprise. He was the Kazekage after all. Being busy was part of the job description.

Kaoru walked into his office around lunch time with Kohaku waddling behind her. The little boy was a 17 months old and had just learned to walk about two months ago. For some reason that Gaara couldn't fathom the brat loved him. Kohaku went up to Gaara and grabbed hold of the bottom of his kage robe then tugged. Gaara glanced at him then up at Kaoru. After he nodded his head in acknowledgment he looked back at his paperwork, "Not now, Kaoru. I have some things I need to finish."

"They'll still be there later, Gaara-kun. Now come on. You need to eat."

He gave her a frustrated stare. This was a normal part of the day now. Someone would send Kaoru up to his office to make him leave. They would argue about whether or not he had the time to leave and in the end he would lose. She always knew just what to say or do to get him to cooperate. It was infuriating sometimes to know that she knew his that well. Gaara wasn't happy with this.

"Can't you ever just leave me alone," he demanded.

She gave him a sweet and innocent look, "Of course, Gaara-kun. But if I do that you'll starve to death. Then you'll make Kohaku upset."

He let out a sigh and stood up. Would he ever be able to just tell her no? It shouldn't be that hard. After all it was just a one syllable word. Kaoru looked at him with a smile. He shook his head, "I think I'm beginning to understand why Shikamaru is always saying the word troublesome."

"Well if you follow Shikamaru's example then you can only say that about the girl you love. He only calls Ino troublesome now. Everything else is a drag."

Gaara smirked at this bit of information. Somehow it didn't surprise him that Shikamaru only called Ino troublesome. Not only was Ino troublesome but she was also special to the genius. That word to Shikamaru was term of endearment. Half the time if he said something was troublesome he actually enjoyed it but was pretending not to.

"Troublesome is not a good thing for me like it is for that lazy ass," Gaara told her.

"I know but it sounded good at the time. Come on, Gaara-kun. We really need to get something to eat."

"We?"

She suddenly looked sheepish, "They always send me to get you for lunch because chances are I haven't eaten either."

Gaara shook his head at his friend. He wasn't the only one that was always busy. Kaoru spent most of her time at the hospital these days. In the last year Yuri had past more and more of the responsibility to her star student. She really wanted Kaoru in control of the medical core in Suna. No one could argue with her. The fact was everyone loved Kaoru. It was impossible not to. Gaara liked to pretend that he didn't notice all the guys trying to gain her attention. Those guys got on his nerves. Every time he saw one anywhere near Kaoru he felt like punching something and if he had his way it would be their face. Fortunately for them Kaoru was as dense as a rock when it came to that kind of thing. She didn't even know what the guys wanted from her. All she did was smile sweetly and more often than not told them she was too busy to go anywhere with them. Gaara hadn't noticed that if he asked Kaoru for anything she never refused him. No matter what she was doing at the time she would drop it just to do what he had asked her with a few exceptions.

Gaara and Kaoru walked out of the Kage's tower. Koaru was carrying Kohaku now. She would only let him walk inside at the moment. There were too many places for a curious kid to wonder off to outside. She walked beside the Kazekage and told him about her day at the hospital. Gaara told her a little about his day. It was still abnormal for him to talk very much. That was alright though because Kaoru talked enough for the both of them and she was happy while doing it.

After the two had finished eating Temari came up to them with a smile, "Hey guys. Kaoru, will you come train with me?"

Kaoru tilted her head to the side, "Where's Kankuro?"

"He's teaching his class at the moment."

"Oh, alright then. I've been ordered not to come back to work so I have plenty of time." Kaoru turned to Gaara and handed him Kohaku. As usual Gaara acted like he was holding a bomb. The two girls chuckled at him.

"Why are you handing him to me?" Gaara asked as calmly as he could. The kid had gripped his kage robes in both hands and didn't want to let go. He was also smiling at Gaara.

"Because I want you to look after him until I get back. My grandmother isn't home right now so you're the only one I can trust him with that's available. All you have to do is keep him in the office with you and give him something to play with," Kaoru told him with a smile.

"Kaoru, I'm not good with kids. You know that," Gaara said. He looked at the dark haired girl beside him, "Besides, shouldn't you get some rest?"

She gave him a sweet smile and he knew she was about to say something he wouldn't like. Her tone was dripping honey, "You're absolutely right, Gaara-kun. Tell you what. I'll take tomorrow off."

Gaara narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion, "That easy?"

"Of course it is. It'll be great because Temari and Kankuro are off too. We can all spend the day together. It's been a long time since the four of us had any time together," Kaoru commented.

"Wait, the four of us?"

"Yes, Gaara-kun. The four of us."

Gaara felt slightly panicked now. It didn't look like he was going to get out of babysitting duty and she was going to make sure he took tomorrow off. "Now wait a minute, Kaoru..."

He stopped when he saw the look that came into her eyes. It was that sad look that told him she was about to let him have his way even though she really didn't want to. Most of the time Gaara wouldn't give in to that look but this was one of those times he knew he couldn't tell her no. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, "Alright, damn it. I'll watch the bra...I mean Kokaku until you come to get him."

And just Gaara's luck. Kohaku chose that moment to say his first words, "Damn it."

The adults all looked at him in shock. The little boy laughed and clapped his hands together. Gaara's reaction was priceless. He started to say several other cuss words but didn't finish any of them. So he sounded like, "Shi...I mean da..." He eventually just stopped trying to talk so that he

The others started to laugh at him. They couldn't help it. His reaction to the kid was something to remember because it was funny that he could get so frustrated over a little boy that wasn't even two years old. Kaoru smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek, "Thanks, Gaara-kun. I'll see you later and don't forget to tell the council that you're taking the day off tomorrow."

The medic ran off towards the training area waving over her shoulder. Gaara could see the grin on her face. He wondered if she was serious about the day off thing. Somehow he knew she was. He might as well just plan on spending the day as far from his office at the three of them could get him. The Kazekage returned to his office with a shake of his head. His friends were forever making him take breaks from work. He smiled as he walked into the office.

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Temari and Kaoru were both dripping sweat. The two were a challenge to each other. All Kaoru had to do was touch someone with a medical ninjutsu and they were doomed. However, Temari was a distance fighter so getting close to her was difficult. Kaoru had been trained to dodge any kind of attack because who would heal the team if the medical nin got injured. Kaoru had just performed another attack and fell to her knees gasping for breath. Temari stumbled her way over to the medic that plopped down next to her.

The two were suddenly on alert. Something was terribly wrong. As they looked around nothing seemed out of place and there wasn't a single sound outside of their panting. Neither was sure what it was but they knew that something wasn't right. The problem was the more they looked for it the more they wondered if maybe they were being paranoid.

They had almost convinced themselves that was the case when something hit Temari in her shoulder. Kaoru rushed to her friend's side, "Temari, are you alright?"

"Yeah," Temari said through gritted teeth. She pulled the thing out of her shoulder. They both gasped.

"It's a dart. But that means that there was something on it," Kaoru commented while standing. She wanted to get Temari to the hospital before whatever was on the dart took full affect. Then she felt a small pain in the back of her neck. She reached back and pulled an identical dart to the one that had hit Temari. A wave a dizziness rushed through her. The last think Kaoru remembered seeing were black figures walking towards them with splotches of red.

"Well, we got both of them, Sasori. We can return to the base with them now right?" one of the men asked the other. This one had blonde hair that was up in a high ponytail. He had one large lock of hair that covered one half of his face.

"Of course, Deidara," the other said in an emotionless tone. All of his features were hidden by a mask and the cloak he wore. They each lifted one of the girls and turned. The two members of the Akatsuki walked away without a backwards glance.

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Kaoru woke up and rubbed at her head. God it hurt. Someone sat down next to her. Her crimson eyes darted over and saw Temari. It took Kaoru a moment to remember what had happened. When she did she jumped up and glanced around. They were in a small room with two beds. There was a single window but it wasn't big enough to climb out of. The door opened.

A red headed boy walked into the room. Something was wrong with him and it took Kaoru a moment to figure out what it was. He didn't feel. This man had no feelings for anything. There wasn't even a twinge. She looked at him in disbelief. That couldn't be right. Everyone had feelings. It was impossible for him to feel nothing...wasn't it? Only the dead didn't feel so was it possible that this mas wasn't living? If he wasn't human than what was he?

He looked at them, "I see you're both awake. That's good. I suppose you're hungry."

The man set down a tray of food he had been carrying. After a few moment Kaoru looked up at him in sardonic amusement, "I hope you don't honestly expect us to eat that, do you?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

"Never eat food from enemy if you didn't watch them like a hawk while they made it and even then don't trust it," Temari quoted from their sensei, Baki.

He smirked, "I suppose that is a wise thing to think. I can guarantee that the food is fine. You're no use to us dead."

"What do you want with us?" Temari demanded. She was standing now and glaring at the man.

"To get to the Kazekage of course. You two will be the perfect bait."

"What do you want with Gaara-kun?" Kaoru demanded.

"Who the hell are you?" Temari asked at the same time.

The man didn't seem to care at all that the two of them were upset. He just shrugged and said, "I am Sasori of the Red Sand. Also a member of the Akatsuki. We want Shukaku contained inside the Kazekage."

Kaoru gasped, "But that'll...that'll kill Gaara-kun."

He looked at her with those empty red eyes, "Yes it would, wouldn't it? Oh well."

Both girls glared at him for all they were worth. They already hated him because he was Sasori but now it was worse. He had threatened Gaara. If they ever had the chance they would kill him on sight. He walked back toward his work shop with a small smirk. Suddenly he gripped his chest where his heart should have been. Something was wrong. It hurt. He hadn't felt pain in a long time and he shouldn't be feeling it now. Sasori shrugged. Oh well, he would figure it out eventually.

Kaoru and Temari examined themselves for any injuries. Kaoru found the pin prick where the dart had hit her. She must of bled a little when she pulled it out. That wasn't what held her attention though. She couldn't find it. The medic ran her hands all around her neck but it wasn't there. Her necklace was gone. She knew she didn't take it off because she never did. The girl even slept with it on. She searched the room but still didn't find it. This wasn't good. If they left if with Gaara he would worry. Everyone knew she didn't take that thing off willingly.

Temari's voice cut through her thoughts, "I can't find my fan."

"That's a weapon so they probably wouldn't leave it with us. They even took our pouches," Kaoru pointed out.

"I guess you're right. Are you missing anything else?"

"Yeah. My necklace."

Temari's reaction mirrored Kaoru's, "Oh shit. They left it for Gaara to find." She sounded a bit more cheerful when she added, "Well, I can't say it was nice knowing them."

"What do you mean? Gaara-kun wouldn't kill them."

"Kaoru, I can't believe you're that naïve. Gaara would murder anyone that laid a hand on you without hesitation."

"No he wouldn't, Temari. That's just silly. He'll come save us though, right?"

Temari just nodded her head. Everyone knew how her younger brother felt about the medical nin. To this day she was the only one he would trust enough to fall asleep around. Kaoru was also the one he smiled around the most and he couldn't tell her no. That's way Temari always sent Kaoru when she needed something from her brother she knew he wouldn't like. Temari knew that once Gaara got his hands on these people he would murder each and every one of them and it would probably do it slowly and painfully.

_---Meanwhile in Suna---_

Kankuro had gotten worried because neither of the girls had shown up yet. Kaoru should have gone to get Gaara for dinner but she never did. The puppeteer knew his friend would never have forgotten. She had never gone to get Kohaku either and that worried both him and Gaara. Something had to be wrong. He went to the training grounds and didn't find them anywhere. What he did find made his blood chill. Laying on the ground were two darts. He picked them up carefully so that they didn't prick him and went to find Gaara.

Gaara listened to Kankuro and had Yuri examine the darts. She was able to confirm that there had been a tranquilizer on the darts so the girls weren't dead. That did little to reassure the Kazekage because they still didn't know who had taken them in the first place. Several search parties were organized but no one found anything. Gaara even sent a message to Konoha to ask for Kiba and Neji to help search. Tsunade sent them and even added Hinata to the group. The whole area was swarming with ninja looking for Kaoru and Temari.

The longer it took to find them the more Gaara worried. He knew that the chances were good that they had been kidnapped and that whoever had done it was really after him. Why couldn't people ever attack him head on? Did they always have to involve the people that mattered to him? A flash of Kaoru's smiling face came to his head. Fear followed quickly after it. What if it was too late? No, he couldn't think like that. He had to believe that they were alright.

Kiba walked into his office with Akamaru. He looked serious and worried. This did nothing to help Gaara's state of mind. Kiba's voice matched his face, "We've found something. You may want to come with me, Gaara-sama."

Kiba led him to the cliff over looking Suna. On the cliff was Temari's fan with a note attached to it. No one had touched it. Kankuro walked up to it and took the little piece of paper and began to read aloud.

_To the Lord Kazekage_

_We have your sister and the one called Kaoru. If you want them back you'll have to come get them. Be warned that if you do that you'll only get them if you exchange your life for theirs. We will meet you here on this cliff in a months time for the trade. If you decide against the deal they will die. If you try to find them and rescue them they will die. Pretty much anything but agreeing to our terms will result in their deaths. So it would be best if you just gave in. One life for two lives, Sabaku no Gaara. We believe this is a fair trade._

_Sincerely,_

_The Akatsuki_

Everyone looked at Gaara nervously. It seemed as if the entire world was holding its breath in anticipation of his reaction. For few moments nothing happened. But just as everyone was about to let out that breath in relief the ground began to tremble. Chakra exploded around Gaara and it was all anyone could do to get away from him. Kankuro looked at his brother's eyes and gasped. One eye was his normal sea foam eye but the other was the golden eye of Shukaku. Both eyes looked way beyond pissed off.

Sand began to move wildly around. Everyone ducked behind something to protect themselves. Gaara stood in the center of the storm. He was just staring at something with his fists clenched at his side. For the first time in his life Gaara and Shukaku were in complete agreement and even for partially the same reason. The Akatsuki had to pay for threatening what was theirs. If one hair on Kaoru's head was injured both Shukaku and Gaara would hunt them down to the ends of the earth. The only difference was Shukaku didn't care about Temari. Gaara did. Kankuro finally got a chance to see what Gaara was looking at. Hanging off the large fan was a silver chain that had a heart shaped ruby on it. The sand lifted it up and brought it to Gaara. There was a little blood on it. 'Yes,' the two being living inside the Kazekage thought together, 'the Akatsuki would pay dearly.'

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Alright. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter should be posted soon. Don't forget to review 


	14. The Beginnings of Change

I've finally finished this chapter. obviously since i'm posting it. From here the event in the story won't follow the anime. for those of you who care i have absolutely no intention of having the akatsuki extract Shukaku from Gaara. I cried during that episode and i don't think i can wright it. Sorry it's just too depressing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and unfortunately I never will (sighs) very unfortunate

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**Ch. 13: The Beginnings of Change  
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The girls adjusted the best they could over the next several days. They didn't try to fight because neither of them had any weapons and they were outnumbered. Sasori was the one that ended up taking care of them like bringing them food and drinks. He even escorted them to a bathroom so that they could wash up. After a few days they were even moved to a room with a bathroom attached to it. There was also another room attached and it turned out to be Sasori's room. It was filled with puppets.

Kaoru really didn't like him because he never felt anything. Something about that bugged her. It wasn't right. People should always feel something even if it was just boredom. That frustrated her. She finally got the nerve to ask him about it.

"Umm, excuse me, Sasori?" she said timidly.

He looked at her, "What is it?"

"Umm, can I ask you something?" she managed. This really was difficult for her. She wasn't exactly brave by nature. As mentioned before she was actually very shy and known for being timid. She wasn't a coward but she didn't like to be a bother to people or to disappoint them.

"You just did but you may ask me something else if you like," he stated.

"Well, I've noticed that you…don't feel anything. Why is that?"

This got Temari's attention. Kaoru hadn't mentioned this before. It was odd for her not to be able to tell what other people feel or the reason behind it. Her kekkei gengai was the strongest in the history of her clan. It made predicting the enemy easier and even how to goad them into acting irrationally. There were other uses as Kaoru demonstrated during the chunin exams. She could tell the difference between a clone and the real thing because clones didn't really feel. They just mimicked the original. She could even locate people with little to no trouble. The best way to describe it was that everyone had a unique emotional signature and she could tell them apart then pinpoint their location.

Sasori tilted his head to the side, "What makes you think I don't feel?"

Kaoru and Temari exchanged glances. Neither intended to tell him about the Tsukino clan's kekkei genkai. The Akatsuki knew that Kaoru was a medical nin but they didn't know what clan she belonged to and they didn't seem to care. So Kaoru said, "Your face or eyes never give any away. Not to mention your voice is always blank."

He seemed satisfied with the answer and said, "I'm not human."

Kaoru and Temari looked at him like he'd lost his mind. Temari then asked, "Then what are you?"

"I'm a puppet."

The light bulb clicked in Kaoru's mind, "That's right. You're Chiyo's grandson."

"Yes, I am." Kaoru gave him a look filled with pity. He raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"You don't feel."

"No I don't. I like it that way. This way I don't feel any sorrow or pain like I did before."

Kaoru's voice was low and sad when she said, "You're right. But you don't feel happiness or love either."

Temari looked at her friend in shock. Then shook her head at her. Leave it to Kaoru to feel sorry for the enemy. Sasori shook his head at Kaoru as well, "You're a strange girl to feel sorry for the enemy."

Kaoru gave a small smile, "Of course. Being a bad guy doesn't mean I can't feel sorry for you, Sasori. It just means I won't let that stop me from kicking your ass at the first given opportunity."

He smirked and then left them alone in the room. He had business to attend to anyway. It was time to extract the two tailed cat from the girl that Hidan and Kakuzu had brought in. Hopefully this would go smoothly. Then he could get back to working on his puppets. He had come up with some weapon ideas for Hiruko and wanted to try them. He was going to be one of the few members that would be physically present. It would be the first time he had been physically in the same area as any of the other members besides Deidara. When they entered the room the girl glared at them.

"Let me go. What do you want with me?" she demanded.

"We don't want you. We want what's in you,"Sasori responded coldly.

Her eyes widened, "But that will kill me."

"Yes it will. What a shame," he stated in a way that let her know he didn't care at all.

The cat like eyes narrowed at him, "Don't you have any heart?"

He just looked at her with calm uncaring eyes, "Of course not. I'm no longer human. My body is that of a puppet and puppets don't have hearts."

Something came into her eyes. He didn't know what she was thinking and frankly he didn't care. Everyone got into position and began the extracting. Then something happened. Sasori felt a searing pain through his body. He ignored it and finished the extraction and when asked afterwards he said he was fine. Sasori managed to make his way back to his room without any indication that something was wrong.

Sasori stumbled into his room. His body that wasn't supposed to feel any form of pain was throbbing with it. He collapsed onto his knees. Something had gone terribly wrong. He didn't even know what it was. While they were extracting the two tailed cat the girl had looked right at him and something had happened then. Some of the chakra had shot from her too him. He was positive that she had intended to kill him with some kind of jutsu. However he wasn't technically alive to begin with so it had done something else to him instead.

The door opened to the room adjoining his. The two girls walked in. What in the world were they doing here. The dark haired one, Kaoru, knelt down beside him. Her hands showed the green of a medical chakra as she checked him for injuries. She frowned and said, "I was right. He is in a great deal of pain. His body is changing."

"Into what," he managed between clenched teeth. Both girls looked at him.

"I'm not sure but I think it's flesh and blood."

He groaned in pain. Sweat beaded from his forehead. Temari hated him but he looked like he was in so much pain. After a mental argument with herself she went into the bathroom. When she came back out she was carrying a damp rag. She joined Kaoru beside Sasori. The wind mistress wiped his forehead with the cool rag.

Kaoru did her best to ease his pain. She couldn't figure out what was going on. His entire body was going through a huge change. Something was forcing the change at the most basic level. What was even more confusing is part of him was accepting the change while another was fighting it tooth and nail to stop it. Kaoru had a feeling that it would hurt a lot less if he didn't fight it. She tried to tell him this but he wasn't listening. The medic let out a long sigh and prepared herself for a long night.

Sasori finally fell asleep around dawn. His entire body was now flesh and blood. Kaoru worked well into the morning to heal any major injuries that had resulted from the transformation. She was so exhausted that she couldn't stand. Temari caught her friend before she fell down. She helped the medic to her bed. After a moments hesitation she went back into the puppet master's room. He was still on the floor. She managed to get him up on his bed with a lot of effort. When she made sure that he was comfortable she returned to her room. Temari fell onto her bed and fell into a sound sleep herself.

The next morning the first thing Kaoru did after waking up was check on Sasori. She found it ironic that she was helping her kidnapper. A smart person would have just let him die that way they could escape. She let out a sigh and thought, 'Well, I guess I'm not a smart person.' When she opened the door to his room she nearly fell over from the pain. It was rolling out of the room in waves and it made her feel like she was being hit by a tidal wave. She braced herself against the door and adjusted to the strength of the emotion. Normally she was always prepared for that kind of thing but she hadn't expected it from him. He never felt anything and it didn't cross her mind that it would change when he got a real body.

He looked up at her, "What the hell happened to me?"

"I'm not sure. All I could tell was that something was forcing your body to change into flesh. Did anything happen to you before you came back?" she asked him as she checked him for any injuries or illnesses.

"I was hit with a jutsu meant to kill me."

"It couldn't have been meant to kill you. The jutsu was intentionally changing you. It would take a great deal of power for someone to do something like this. It isn't a simple matter to change the chemical make up of anything. Especially something dead into something living."

He didn't respond. Temari walked in a few minutes later. She was feeling very grumpy because of the late night. Her sleepy blue eyes looked around the room for some breakfast and, when they didn't find any, focused on Sasori. Her voice was soft with sleep when she asked, "What's for breakfast?"

Sasori just looked at her. This one kept surprising him. One minute she was tough and standing in his face when normal people would cower. The next she was tender and kind like she had been last night. Now she was sleepy and...cute. Damn he hated having his feelings back. He was getting rid of them at the first given opportunity. He growled, "I don't know."

Temari's eyes came fully alert, "No need to be grumpy. It's not my fault that you're not used to actually feeling things. Maybe you should consider dealing with them instead of being a coward and getting rid of them this time...jerk."

Kaoru looked between the two in mild concern. They were now glaring at each other. She could feel the waves of annoyance and irritation coming off of them. Added to Sasori's enormous amount of pain and you had a bad mix. The strength of the emotions did affect Kaoru physically but she could usually handle it. Her endurance level for that was a lot higher than anyone else in her clan and at the moment she was at the very edge of her limit. She couldn't handle one more persons emotions or she wouldn't be able to breathe.

The medic stood up with a small smile, "I'll go find something to eat for everyone."

Temari looked over at her, "No you don't. It's his job damn it."

"Look, Temari, he's hurt. I don't mind," Kaoru stated as she headed for the door.

Sasori watched. Kaoru wasn't necessarily a timid person. She just didn't argue. The medic either agreed with you or did what she wanted anyway. It was interesting to watch someone try to convince her to do something else. The other girl, Temari, was a stubborn one. Unlike Kaoru, she would fight anyone. She obviously wasn't afraid of much. The two made interesting friends considering they were complete opposites.

Sasori got to his feet slowly. Kaoru was at his side before he could blink to help him if he should fall. A part of him appreciated the gesture and intended to repay it one day. The rest of him shoved that part into a deep dark corner to be ignored until it came to its senses. When he was standing he looked at the girls. Crimson eyes held concern. Turquoise eyes held irritation and buried deep down there was a spark of worry. He ignored both and headed for the door. When he reached the door he hesitated. Then motioned for them to follow.

_----Meanwhile in Suna----_

The day after the girls had been kidnapped Gaara was in Kaede's house with his siblings, Yuri, and Baki. They were all discussing options. No one bothered to ask the council because they would only want to turn Gaara over. They still seemed to think that Gaara was a threat to them and Kage had long since given up on convincing them otherwise. After exhausting all ideas for the day everyone started to go home.

"Here, Gaara-sama. I'll take Kohaku," Kaede said beside him.

Gaara looked down at the little boy with curly dark hair. Kohaku looked back up at him with those blue eyes and gripped his robe in one hand. He said his second word ever, "Ga-sma."

The Kazekage blinked in surprise. It wasn't quite his name but close enough he supposed. The kid missed a few letters. The Kage really didn't want to do this. He should just let Kaede take the little brat. He let out a sigh and knew he was going to do it. Gaara's sea foam eyes looked back to Kaede, "No. I'll take him."

"I thought you didn't like kids," Kankuro commented from the door.

"I don't. I promised Kaoru that I would watch him until she came to get him." Gaara reached down and picked Kohaku up. The boy placed his head on Gaara's shoulder and promptly fell asleep. The Kage tried not to look as amazed as he felt. The kid had been around Kaoru too long. Now he actually trusted Gaara. He looked back at Kaede, "Tomorrow have some of his things sent to the manor."

"Of course, Gaara-sama."

_----Back with the Akatsuki----_

Sasori led them into a kitchen. There were already three men inside. One had his blonde hair up in a ponytail with a loose chunk covering half his face. His blue eyes seemed extremely cheerful for a bad guy. The second had short silver hair brushed away from his face. He had purple eyes but there was nothing cheerful about them. The last was mostly hidden by the cloak and headband her wore. All you could see was his eyes. Every one of their head bands had a slash through them.

Kaoru briefly wondered what that meant before being distracted by the silver haired man. He was eying her and Temari like a side of meat. The waves of lust rolling off of him made her feel sick. Contrary to popular belief she did notice when men paid attention to her. She just pretended not to so that she could let them down easy. Most of the time the light waves of lust didn't make her feel like this. Coming from him those very same waves made her sick.

Sasori began to make some food. The three guys all did their own version of saying hello and ignored him. Kaoru and Temari exchanged glances and decided it would be best if they stayed way over here. Away from the other guys. It was odd. Now that they thought about it they actually trusted Sasori to at least treat them decently. The others...not so much. Kaoru stayed close to Temari. The wind mistress was not only stronger strength wise but she also had a more dominant personality. If one of the other guys tried to mess with them you could trust Temari to mess right back.

No one noticed that Sasori had changed. Apparently none of them could tell that he wasn't a puppet. Kaoru wondered about that but didn't comment. Temari started to wonder around the kitchen. Kaoru shrunk back against the wall. It made her nervous to be left alone with those waves of lust washing over her. She didn't notice that Sasori was keeping an eye on both her and Temari. When Hidan stood up and started to walk over to her Sasori's calm voice reached Kaoru, "Bring me some plates, medic."

Kaoru blinked, "Who me?"

"Do you see any other medics in the room?" he asked her calmly.

Kaoru jumped at the excuse to get near someone she actually trusted not to hurt her, "Alright. Where are they at?"

Sasori gestured and she rushed over to the cabinet. Hidan walked out the kitchen with a frown on his face. Kaoru let out a sigh of relief. She stayed near Sasori anyways when she handed him the plates. The red head didn't complain or seem to even notice. The puppet master handed her a plate with food and then one to Temari. Taking one himself he led the way back to their room. Kaoru and Temari both followed him quickly casting nervous looks over their shoulders on their way out.

After they had left the room Kakuzu looked at Deidara curiously, "I didn't think Sasori ate."

Deidara frowned, "No dana doesn't eat. What made you think he did, un?"

"They took three plates. We only have two prisoners."

"That's odd. Maybe one of them eats a lot, un."

Kakuzu shook his head, "He's only taken two plates before now."

Deidara couldn't think of anymore explanations for the puppet master's sudden desire to eat. Then he remembered that Sasori had been hit with something during the extraction last night. "You don't think that the chakra that hit no dana yesterday had anything to do with it, do you, un?"

"That's a possibility. Let's keep an eye on him until we figure out what's going on. I don't want to tell Pain anything until I know everything."

Deidara nodded in agreement then continued eating. Kakuzu shook his head at the blonde man. How one man could eat so much was beyond him. Surely he didn't need that much to survive. If he didn't he was wasting money eating more than he needed. Kakuzu managed to restrain the urge to hit Deidara and left the kitchen before his restraint went away.

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Alright that's it for now. I'm working on the next chapter now. It may be a day or two because i've reached a slight snag. I what Sasori to become a good guy (obviously) but i can't decide if he helps the girls escape or if Gaara comes to get them and the girls ask him to spare Sasori. Decisions decisions...oh well i'll come up with something. 

now all that i ask is that you push the little blue gray button that says 'go' and submit a review.


	15. A Change of Heart

Alright. I've finished this chapter sooner than expected. Well I'll let you get to reading now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

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**Ch. 14: A Change of Heart**

Sasori was very careful over the next few days. He didn't want Pain to hear about his physical change or his emotional one. The puppet master protected them from the other Akatsuki members as best he could without giving away too much. It seemed to work just fine. No one suspected that he actually cared about what happened to them. Deidara did ask his partner about his change in attitude a few time but Sasori was always able to brush him off with a shrug and something along the lines of "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Kaoru was careful about how she did it but she was helping him deal with the new emotions. She knew if he knew what she was doing he would hate it. The man had as much pride as Gaara did which was saying quite a bit. He was also very worried about the others finding out about what had happened to him. She told Temari about it when he wasn't listening. The wind mistress was worried about the puppeteer but anyone who didn't know her wouldn't have seen it. She started to annoy him less but pretended it was because she didn't think he was worth her time rather than because she didn't want him to get hurt.

Sasori walked into the room with the other Akatsuki members. Gaara's month was almost up and they needed to discuss option in that area. They came up with a plan B just in case Gaara didn't give in to their demands. The kage was suppose to be a heartless monster after all. Then the conversation took a turn that Sasori wished it hadn't.

"Sasori, what is wrong with you?" Pain asked him coldly.

The puppet master's voice was just as cold, "Nothing."

"Kakuzu said that you're actually eating on a regular bases."

'Damn, I should have known that mummy would notice that,' Sasori cursed himself mentally. The only thing he said out loud was, "There have been a few...complications."

"With what?" Pain demanded.

Sasori debated with himself for a moment then said, "That girls jutsu did something to me."

"The two tailed cat?" The puppet man nodded and looked like he didn't care at all. Pain nodded, "I thought that would be it. What affect did it have?"

"I think it was meant to kill me but instead it brought me to life so to speak. My body is now flesh and blood instead of wood and wire," Sasori replied in a calm tone. He was careful to keep his mind blank of anything he didn't want Pain to know. It wouldn't do for the Akatsuki leader to find out about his emotional developments, especially since he was coming to accept those emotions reluctantly.

Pain seemed to accept this answer and dismissed them. Deidara walked beside his partner and looked at him out of the corner of his eyes, "No dana, that jutsu didn't do anything else to you did it, un?"

"No, Deidara. It didn't."

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Temari couldn't stand it. She was actually worried about the bastard. The wind mistress was pacing in their room with a scowl on her face. Kaoru was watching her with some amusement. The medic knew what was wrong with her friend of course. Temari was a logical person. Her skills involved the mind and the body but when it came to the heart she was at a loss. The top strategist in Suna couldn't figure out that she was attracted to Sasori. Kaoru closed her eyes and focused on Temari's emotions. Waves of frustration and confusion washed over her. A smile played at her lips when she noticed the small laps of worry buried under the other two emotions. Her red eyes snapped open and she looked at Temari with a smile.

"What the hell is the matter with me, Kaoru?" Temari suddenly demanded.

"I could tell you but you wouldn't like the answer."

"Tell me anyway."

"He's become more of a friend than an enemy. It's no longer possible for either of us to hate him anymore. He's protected us and taken care of us. That is throwing our emotions for a loop."

"It's not doing that to you," Temari pouted.

"Of course not. Emotions are easy for me to deal with. If anything I listen to them a little too much but you on the other had use logic for everything. Logically, Sasori is our enemy. Emotionally, he isn't anymore."

Temari just shook her head, "This gives me a headache. How do you stand all these emotions all the time? You not only have to deal with your own but with everyone else's too. It would drive me insane."

"I don't know. I was born with it remember. Most of the time I don't even think about all the emotions. I mean. I might just think 'oh hey that guy is happy because he's getting married' or something like that but for the most part the emotions aren't even a conscious thought. It's kinda like a dog asking how you can stand only having two legs."

Temari was about to respond when the blonde member of the Akatsuki walked in. He was carrying a tray of food for the two of them, "No dana is busy so I'm bringing you lunch."

"Umm, is it alright if I ask who you are?" Kaoru asked. They had seen only three other members of the Akatsuki but hadn't been told who they were. Sasori was the only one that the girls had any interaction with and they knew he didn't want they dealing with the other members much for their own safety.

The blonde man gave a smile, "Of course. I'm Deidara, no dana's partner."

"Who's no dana?" Temari asked.

"Sasori."

"Right. I'll remember that. No about that food..." Temari stated as she walked over to get the food. The blonde man left without another word. He was more cheerful than Sasori but he didn't seem to care about them anymore than the other Akatsuki. He made Kaoru think of a wolf in sheep's clothing. The minute he shed that sheep's skin he would be as vicious as any of the other Akatsuki.

It was shortly after dinner when two new members came to the lair. One looked more like shark than a person. His skin was a light blue and he had a row of razor sharp teeth. He carried a large sword that had a bandage rapped around it. The other guy had emotionless onyx eyes and blue black hair. Two locks of it framed his face and the rest was kept tied back and under his cloak. Like all Akatsuki members they wore the black cloaks with red clouds on the and a slash through their village headbands.

Kaoru kept staring at one of them. He looked so much like Sasuke it wasn't funny. She eventually decided that this one had to be Itachi Uchiha. Sakura had mentioned that he was a part of the Akatsuki once. There was one difference between the brothers though. Sasuke actually cared about people. Even when he had been about to leave to join Orochimaru he had cared about Sakura and Naruto. Itachi however didn't care about anyone. She wondered how he became that way. Then those onyx eyes turned to her. She quickly looked away.

"Is something bothering you?" he asked calmly.

"No. It's just that...you look like someone I know," she replied as calmly as possible.

Kisame grinned, "Don't be rude, Itachi. You're suppose to introduce yourself then interrogate her."

Itachi's gaze flick to Kisame then back to Kaoru. Temari stepped up next to her friend. She didn't like the look of these men. Kisame looked at the two girls and quickly judged which one was stronger all around. The one that had spoken to Itachi was obviously just a shy little thing. The blonde was another story however. She had backbone. Itachi's eyes didn't leave Kaoru however. Unfortunately for the medic she had been the one to attract his attention, not Temari.

"I'm Itachi Uchiha. Who are you?" he demanded. Had he been anyone else it would have come across as just calmly asking a question but for Itachi that was as close to demanding as he got.

"Umm...my name is...Kaoru," she managed. Itachi really made her nervous. It was times like this she wished she could be more like Temari or Sakura and hide the fact that she was afraid.

"Now, who do I remind you of?"

"A friend from Konoha."

That really caught his interest, "Would this friend be Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Yes."

He smirked, "I'm not surprised. So how is my little brother doing?"

"Just fine..." Kaoru felt a spark of temper and added, "especially without you around." After she had said that last bit she clapped her hands over her mouth in shock. That wasn't like her. Her crimson eyes looked right at Itachi in fear. He had started to walk forward but someone interrupted them.

"What are you doing here, un?" Deidara demanded. He really hated Itachi. If it wasn't for the Uchiha he wouldn't have had to join the Akatsuki at all. So every time he saw the older Uchiha they would end up arguing and someone would have to break it up.

Itachi smirked at him. He took great enjoyment out of Deidara's annoyance, "In case you've forgotten, I'm a member of the Akatsuki too."

"Of course I didn't forget you bastard, un," Deidara almost growled out in frustration. What he wouldn't give to strangle Itachi with his bare hands.

Kaoru was looking between the two of the as the argument when on in worry. She could tell by Deidara's temper what was going to happen soon. She was right. It didn't take long for Deidara to have enough and throw the first punch. Now Kaoru was really nervous. They had started throwing sharp objects. Temari and Kaoru were forced to dodge the things that missed their intended target and headed for them. Teamri had just dodged a kunai when she felt something grab her then pull her to the left. When she looked back a windmill shuriken was embedded in the ground where she had been standing. Then something gabbed hold of Deidara and yanked him back. Itachi landed back on the ground and didn't move again. Deidara looked back to see who had interrupted his fight and looked right into the red eyes of Sasori.

"You interrupted my work," Sasori stated.

"Sorry, no dana, but he started it," Deidara said. He sounded more like a kid then a grown man. Kaoru felt her mouth twitch at the mental comparison.

"You also almost killed one of the hostages," the puppet master stated again. "Pain said not to touch them."

Kisame walked up beside Itachi, "So those are the girls that will get us the one tailed Shukaku."

"Yes," Sasori replied calmly.

Kaoru was the only one that knew he wasn't calm. His emotions were boiling over with anger and confusion. He had been afraid when thought that the weapon was about to hit Temari. When she was safe anger had swept through him because someone had almost hurt her. Then confusion because he couldn't figure out why he cared at all. Then his ruby eyes turned to her. Crimson clashed as she gave him a look of understanding and he kept his eyes emotionless.

Sasori turned and began to walk back to the room. Kaoru and Temari followed after him. Kaoru gave one last look over her shoulder. She saw Deidara glaring at Itachi who was ignoring him. The shark man was chuckling at the two of them. Then his eyes looked up into hers. She felt it then. The wave of understanding. He could tell that Sasori's emotional state wasn't the same as it had been. What she couldn't tell was if he was going to tell the Akatsuki leader or not. This couldn't be good considering Sasori had gone out of his way to make sure that Pain didn't find out.

Was that really bad? If the Akatsuki were distracted by Sasori's predicament then Temari and her could escape. That was the goal wasn't it. They wanted to get out before they could get Gaara-kun. Kaoru couldn't let them kill him. Gaara had suffered enough in his life. She wouldn't let the Akatsuki add to it. Then again, Sasori had protected them the whole time they were here. She could also tell that he felt compassion now even if he was always ruthlessly pushing it aside. He had even saved Temari a few minutes ago.

When they reached the room Kaoru reached out and grabbed Sasori's cloak to get his attention. He looked at her over his shoulder to let her know he was listening. Kaoru drew in a deep breath and prayed she wasn't making a huge mistake because if she was. Gaara would be the one to suffer for it. Her crimson eyes looked into his with what she hoped was confidence and she asked, "Sasori, please...will you...come back to Suna with us?"

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That's it for now. I'm working on the next chapter right now. I might not be updating as fast as I use to from now on. I have at least three stories to work on and school has started to the spring semester. I'll try to update as fast as possible but I can't make any promises. anyways please review and tell me what you think of this chapter 


	16. The Escape

I've finally finished this one. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not and will not ever own Naruto.

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**Ch. 15: The Escape**

Sasori looked at her. Temari was staring at her as well, "What did you say, Kaoru?"

"I asked if he would come back to Suna with us," Kaoru said in perfect calmness.

"Why would you ask that, Kaoru? Are you insane?" Temari demanded. Sasori turned to face Kaoru fully as well. He was just as curious about the medics answer as Temari was.

"Because the shark man knows about his emotional change," Kaoru answered without looking away from Sasori's eyes. His eyes widened slightly and she felt the wave of shock followed by worry. "I know he's been worried about the leader finding out about him getting his emotions back and I figured it's for a good reason."

"Alright but why did you..." Temari trailed off as she saw the implications of what Kaoru was saying. As a strategist it didn't take long to figure out. The shark man could tell Sasori's leader about the change in his heart. If Sasori was worried about that then it meant it was because this leader wouldn't be happy about the change. Her turquoise eyes turned to the puppet master.

Kaoru nodded, "You see it now. Sasori has been protecting us from the others and he's not an evil man. I don't want him to suffer. It would be wrong to let him."

Temari didn't like it but Kaoru was right. Sasori had been watching out for them. He had just saved her life after all. She turned to Sasori, "I'm with Kaoru on this. Come back to Suna with us."

Sasori looked between the two of them, "Have you forgotten that I'm an S ranked criminal as far as Suna is concerned? They'll arrest and kill me the minute they see me."

"We haven't forgotten but we'll talk to my brother. Surely he will listen to us. He can't punish you since you've been protecting us especially Kaoru."

Kaoru's eyes darted to Temari in surprise. Sasori new from that look that she didn't think that she was that important to the Kazekage. He put that thought aside for later examination and considered what they said. If Kisame truly did know about the emotional change then he would probably tell Pain. He looked over at Kaoru, "How do you know?"

"His emotions. When we were leaving the room he was feeling first surprised and then understanding because he could tell that you actually felt something. Please, Sasori. Come with us," Kaoru pleaded.

At first he didn't answer. Someone grabbed one of his hands. His red eyes looked down into pleading turquoise eyes. Temari's voice matched the look in her eyes, "Please, Sasori. Come home."

He closed his eyes and cursed the emotions that part of him still wanted to get rid of. The problem was another part of him insisted on keeping them. That same part was what said, "Alright. We leave tonight. Be prepared."

The girls went into their room to pack the little they had with them. Kaoru looked over at Temari but before she could say anything Temari said, "I know, I know. That was way out of character but I couldn't help it. I really don't want him to be hurt."

Kaoru nodded then returned to packing. A few hours later the three of them stood in the girls room by the window. Sasori lowered the two girls out the window very carefully with chakra strings then jumped down himself. The three of them started running for Suna.

Then they heard a familiar voice, "Kaoru."

_----------A few hours ago in Suna----------_

Gaara felt like punching someone and when he found them it would be the Akatsuki. Suddenly Kiba rushed in with Hinata and Naruto. Neji walked in calmly behind them with Tenten. Naruto placed both hands on Gaara's desk and said excitedly, "We found them."

"How? Where?" Gaara demanded.

"Akamaru managed to follow Kaoru and Temari's scent and then Hinata and Neji confirmed that the girls were inside. Come on and we'll show you," Naruto said.

"No," Neji interrupted.

"What?! Why not, Neji?" Naruto demanded.

"Because if we all go we'll draw too much attention. Rescue missions are best done in small numbers and without being caught."

Gaara nodded in agreement, "I'll take Kankuro, Neji and Tenten with me."

"What?!" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, I want you to stay here and guard my village. There is a week left but if the Akatsuki see me leave they might attack. Sasuke and you are the strongest ninjas here and I'm leaving the rest of the Konoha team and all of my ninja's with you," Gaara explained. "I want...need to go with them."

Naruto relaxed and nodded reluctantly. He could understand Gaara's point of view. He really wanted to go save Kaoru but he couldn't leave his village defenseless. The Kazekage was trusting him to protect his village so that he could go save his friend. Naruto looked Gaara in the eyes with determination, "You can count on me, Gaara-sama. I'll make sure your village is in one piece when you get back."

Gaara nodded and then turned to Neji, "Let's go."

They arrived at the area a few hours later. Neji held up a hand to signal them to stop. He turned to Gaara, "Someone's climbing out of the window over their."

Gaara nodded then they headed over there to see who it was. When Gaara saw a familiar dark haired girl he couldn't help what came out of his mouth. His tone held the relief that flooded his system, "Kaoru."

She turned then and saw him. In all her life she had never been so happy to see him. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck, "Gaara-kun, I'm so glad to see you."

Gaara wrapped his arms around her. He didn't dare move. Half of him was afraid to believe that this wasn't a dream. The kage finally put her down and examined her for injuries, "Are you alright?"

"We're both fine. Someone protected us while we were here and he didn't let anything happen to us," Kaoru stated with a slightly nervous tone.

Gaara was about to comment when a unfamiliar male voice interrupted, "I'd love to let you continue this reunion but we need to leave before we are found. Itachi Uchiha and Kisame are here. Those two are not someone you want to deal with."

"Who are you?" Tenten asked the man.

"This isn't the time. You can interrogate him later. Let's go," Temari said much to Kaoru's relief. The two of them really didn't want to go into who Sasori was until they were safely back in Suna. They knew it would be a long and probably stressful conversation.

The rest of the group agreed then rushed off. That's when Kaoru felt it. A wave of urgency coming from behind them. She said up to Gaara, "They know we're gone."

The group put on a burst of speed and Tenten left some presents behind for the enemy to either have to take time to dodge or trip on. She hoped that they tripped and died on them but that wasn't a necessity. As long as they slowed down that was what mattered. Kaoru concentrated on the emotions behind them so she would know how close they were. She noticed that Neji was also keeping an eye behind them with his Byakugan. She was sure that between the two of them no one would be able to sneak up on them. Well, she was right.

"Stop!" she and Neji said at the same time. The group stopped and then looked back at them. Kaoru let Neji answer, "There's someone in front of us. I don't know who."

"I do. It's Itachi," Kaoru added her input. She recognized Itachi's emotional signature and he was ready for a fight.

Sasori looked in front of them then behind. Even with their lives on the line he managed to sound perfectly calm, "We'll have to go around."

"Which way would be best?" Gaara asked and sounded just as calm as Sasori. Kaoru looked between the two. Except for their eyes they looked remarkably alike and even had several personality traits in common. The two could have been twins. If she hadn't already known better she would have thought that they were. She shook her head and focused back on the situation. She and Neji scanned the area with their kekkei genkais. After a few moment they pointed to the left.

Sasori closed his eyes and then nodded, "The terrain over that way isn't bad. We should be able to go around unobstructed."

Gaara nodded then the group headed in that direction. They were almost out of the forest before Neji and Kaoru once again ordered a halt. This time the Akatsuki didn't give them time to decide which way to go. Hidan came out of the forest in front of them and attacked. While everyone else was dodging his original attack he went for the weakest member of the group. Kaoru managed to dodge several of the blows that was aimed at her from the three bladed scythe but she had twisted her ankle during the process. Then Kakuzu attacked using the masks that contained the hearts of his victims. An elemental blast headed straight for the injured medic. Kaoru couldn't heal her injury in time to move but that didn't stop her from trying. She closed her eyes and braced herself not that it would do her any good. The attack never hit her. She risked opening her eyes to see a large wall of sand in front of her. She felt something else grab hold of her and yanked her back. Someone caught her and when she looked up she saw Sasori. He put her down beside Temari who stood guard over Kaoru so that she would take care of her ankle. The Kazekage and the puppet master walked forward and faced the two members of the Akatsuki. The fight went on for what seemed like hours. After Gaara and Sasori had started fighting it hadn't taken long for the others to get involved. Kaoru chose to stay out of it. At the moment she would just be in the way and she knew it.

Gaara eventually got an opening and a wave of sand enveloped the two Akatsuki members. Kakuzu's earth defenses battled against Gaara's attack. Kaoru looked at Gaara and gasped. Gaara and Shukaku were actually fighting together. One eye was Gaara's sea foam color and the other was the golden eye of Shukaku. The sand trying to crush the enemy suddenly had more strength. Hidan and Kakuzu didn't stand a chance against the enraged Gaara and Shukaku. When it was finished everyone stood there for a moment. Sasori and Gaara were the first to move. Gaara went over to Kaoru and lifted her up bridal style. Sasori examined the area where his former teammates had been killed. After he was positive that they were really dead he turned back to the group and nodded in confirmation.

"Let's go," Gaara ordered.

After a few hours Kaoru and Neji both said that they were no longer being followed. The group slowed but didn't stop until they reached the village. Gaara led the way straight to his office then turned to Kaoru and Temari, "Now tell me. Who is he?"

The girls exchanged looks and then nodded in silent agreement. Kaoru moved so that she was standing too close to Sasori for anyone to attack him. She looked over as Temari who nodded again. The wind mistress faced Gaara, "His name is Sasori of the Red Sand."

At first there wasn't a single word or reaction. The girls didn't make the mistake of letting their guard down and neither did Sasori. Gaara's eyes narrowed, "Tell me, Temari. Kaoru. Why is Suna's most wanted criminal standing in my office without restraints?"

"Because he protected us and then helped us escape, Gaara-kun," Kaoru stated without looking away from his eyes.

"Why did you bring him here?"

Temari answered this time, "He helped us escape, Gaara. When they found out about that he would have been killed. Neither me or Kaoru could let that happen. Not after he protected us while we were there. He even saved my life and you saw him help Kaoru."

Kaoru nodded in agreement, "And you were there when he helped us get away, Gaara-kun. Please pardon him. Let him stay here."

Gaara closed his eyes to regain control of his temper, "He protected both of you and saved Temari."

"Yes," both girls answered together.

Gaara's eyes snapped open and he looked directly at Sasori who met his gaze calmly. The kage studied him for a moment then said, "If I agree to this you will have to agree to tell us everything you know about the Akatsuki. You will also have to be on probation for a year. You will not be allowed to have any weapons or go anywhere alone during this time. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Gaara-sama. I understand perfectly and will agree."

"Why?" Gaara asked.

Sasori thought for a moment then said, "Because someone told me that I should consider dealing with my emotions instead of being a coward and getting rid of them this time. I've had a lot of time to consider this advice and I believe she might have been right."

Temari's eyes widened and she looked back at Sasori. She had been the one to tell him that the morning after he had changed from a puppet to a human. The girl had only said that because she had been grumpy and he had growled at her. Apparently he had taken her seriously. His crimson gaze met her turquoise eyes. He smirked letting her know that he knew exactly what she was thinking. She narrowed her eyes at him then looked away. He was just trying to pick on her. Well she wasn't going to let him. Kaoru looked between the two in amusement then looked back at Gaara.

He sighed, "Alright. Akasun Sasori, you're pardoned from all of your crimes. I am placing you on one years probation. You've already heard and agreed to the terms."

Sasori nodded. Kaoru smiled at Gaara and for the second time that night she threw her arms around his neck. Gaara felt his irritation melt away at Kaoru's happiness. He was glad she was alright and home safe and sound. If he owed this to the Red Sand then he would grant the man anything to repay him. He asked, "Where will the Red Sand be staying?"

"In my guest room," Temari stated. Everyone looked at her in surprise. She just glared at them, "What? If I didn't take him no one else but Kaoru would and that would just annoy Gaara more."

They all had to admit that she had a point. Temari grabbed Sasori by the cloak and began to drag him out. Sasori allowed it simply because he didn't see a reason not too. Tenten gave Neji and Kankuro a meaningful look. Neji took the hint and headed for the door. Kankuro was being a little dense. Tenten grabbed him by one ear and pulled him out of the room. Neji shut the door with a small smile at his irritated teammate.

Kaoru chuckled and turned to face Gaara to say goodnight. He didn't give her a chance. His strong arms wrapped around her waist and he held her against him. She could feel him shaking slightly. She could feel his breath against her ear, "I had never been so angry or terrified then when I found your necklace with the note from the Akatsuki. There was blood on it and I lost it. There's still a crater on the cliff where I found it."

She slid her arms around his neck, "I'm sorry, Gaara-kun. I never meant to worry you."

His arms tightened, "Don't. Don't apologize for what they did. I'm just glad that you're alright. Just don't ever scare me like that again."

She nodded in agreement, "I'll try not too."

He stepped back and the calm collected Gaara was back in control. He pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to her. It was the necklace that he had given her for her birthday. She smiled as he slid it over her head and the comfortable weight of the ruby was back around her neck. Kaoru looked up at him. The only indication that he had been worried was that he wouldn't let her walk home right then. Instead he led her up to his room and told her to sleep in there. She agreed but only if he stayed close. Gaara didn't fight her as she snuggled against him and fell into a sound sleep. He stared up at the ceiling and began to think about the things he needed to ask Sasori tomorrow. He drifted to sleep a few minutes later.

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When Gaara woke up in the morning Kaoru was gone. He panicked. Give the guy a break she had just gotten back from being kidnapped after all. So he was up and rushing down stairs faster than he had ever moved in his life. When he reached the kitchen he relaxed again. There she was humming to herself while making breakfast. Gaara walked over to the table and sat. The medic looked up at him with a smile, "Good morning, Gaara-kun."

He nodded to her. After breakfast the Kage went up stairs. When he came back down he had a waddling Kohaku behind him. Kaoru rushed over and picked him up. She looked at Gaara in surprise, "You kept him the whole time?"

"I told you I would watch him until you came to get him," he stated simply. Kaoru beamed at him which made Gaara fidget a little. It occurred to him that he never had to do much to make Kaoru happy. When she smiled at him like that he wasn't sure what he was suppose to do. She never seemed to mind that he didn't do anything most of the time. Kaoru turned back to the kid and began to feed him some breakfast too.

The young boy was happy with the attention as usual and did the one thing he could do to make Kaoru one of the happiest people in the world. He was laughing as he said, "Momma." The medic blinked at him. Kohaku was pleased with her reaction and clapped his hands together and said it again, "Momma." Then he looked over at Gaara, "Gara-sma."

Kaoru looked over at Gaara in shock, "He just called me momma didn't he?"

Sea foam eyes danced in amusement even though the rest of his face remained impassive. He nodded in response to her question. Kaoru looked back at him, "I think the other word was suppose to be your name."

"He's trying to say 'Gaara-sama'. He heard Kaede call me that."

Kaoru smiled at the boy in her arms. The two most important people in her life and they had both done something to make her so happy. Her crimson eyes were soft and filled with happiness, "It's good to be home."

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Temari wanted to strangle him. The bastard may have emotion now but he really needed to be reminded of them because he was a jerk. So she couldn't cook but did he have to be an ass hole about it. Of course he did. The wind mistress glared as Sasori as he cooked. He had walked in while she was making breakfast and then frowned. The jerk then proceeded to tell her that she was cooking all wrong. Then he had taken over the task because she wasn't listening to him. The death glares seemed to have no affect on him. If anything he looked amused by her reaction.

Sasori set her plate in front of her. She glowered at it and if she hadn't been so hungry she would have refused to eat it. When she took a bite she about melted. Temari had to give the man credit. He really knew how to cook. Who would have thought that Sasori of the Red Sand would actually know how to cook. No only know how to but he was really good at it. She certainly hadn't. She saw his mouth twitch as he watched her.

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

"You."

Her glare intensified, "How am I funny?"

"Your reaction to me and then to the food."

Temari looked away from him and would have huffed out of the kitchen but she wasn't done eating yet. She would get him after her plate was empty. Wouldn't want this perfectly good breakfast to go to waste. Plenty of time to make him pay for being a bastard later. When she did finish eating she began to clear the dishes. It was only fair she told herself. He had cooked even if she hadn't been happy about it so she should to the dishes.

Sasori watched her. This girl was really amusing. She glared at him all morning and still treated him fairly. He had to admit that irritating her was fun though. The puppet master wasn't stupid enough to tell her that though. He had a feeling that would be pushing the limit of what she wouldn't beat him for. Since he could feel pain now he would like to avoid if at all possible. That didn't mean he was going to quit annoying her however. Being turned back into a human didn't get rid of his sadistic side seeing as that was there long before he had changed himself into a puppet.

Temari sat across from him, "I'm going shopping with Kaoru today. We decided that you need different clothes. No point in advertising that you were once an Akatsuki member. I want you to stay here until we come back with some clothes."

"Alright."

"Gaara is going to want to talk to you around lunch time so we should be back before then. You better have all your weapons somewhere easy to get to. You'll have to turn them all over to him." Temari began to chew on her bottom lip for a moment. Sasori recognized it for a nervous habit and waited until she was finished thinking about whatever was on her mind. The wind mistress looked him in the eyes, "I can trust you right, Sasori?"

He didn't look away, "Yes."

She nodded, "I thought so. Give me one of your puppets."

He stood up and reached into his cloak. When his hand came out it held the scroll for Hiruko. Temari took it and carried it upstairs. Curiosity had him following her. She walked into her room and put the scroll in her closet. Temari turned back to him, "It'll be in here. I don't know if the Akatsuki will come after you but just in case I want you to have access to at least one weapon. I may get mad at you and think you're a jerk or a bastard but I know I owe you my life and Kaoru's. If I can return the favor I will."

Sasori looked at her for a moment. He nodded to her slowly. This girl really was something else. Honor was obviously a very big deal to her. Maybe staying here wasn't so bad after all. As long as she didn't kill him for annoying her. That was still a very real possibility since it seemed to annoy her when he breathed.

Temari left him in the house to go shopping with Kaoru. The two girls both arrived back at the wind mistresses house a few hours later. Kaoru smiled at Sasori and said hello. Sasori nodded his greeting to both girls. Temari's version of hello was to shove a bag of clothes in his arms and tell him to go change his clothes. She also ordered him to take a shower while he was at it. Sasori complied simply because he didn't feel like arguing. A few hours later the three of them headed to the Kazekage's office.

Gaara was sitting behind his desk and, as usual when he was working in the office, was wearing his kage robes. Kankuro, Yuri, and Baki were the only other people in the room. The two girls and Sasori sat down in chairs across from Gaara. The first thing Gaara did was ask, "Why did you take Kaoru and Temari?"

Sasori was about to give the shortest answer possible but then stopped. Heaving a big mental sigh he said, "We originally intended to take only Kaoru but the girl was never alone so we compromised."

"Why Kaoru?" Kankuro demanded.

"Because we were told that she was the Kazekage's weakness."

Everyone in the room sat a little straighter. If someone told them about Kaoru that meant that someone from Suna had endangered Kaoru's life. Someone had betrayed them. Temari was the one to ask the question on everyone's mind, "Who told you that?"

"Their names were Hiroshi and Kaito."

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There it is. Can't wait to see everyone's reaction to that last bit of news. anyways I'll tell you at least one thing that happens in the next chapter. Hiroshi opens his big mouth and tells everyone how Kaoru feels about Gaara.

Please review


	17. A Confession

I personally think Gaara is a little...ok alot out of character towards the end of the story but I had to do it that way. There will be a few moments like that alot so I hope you don't mind. Anyways on with the story.

Disclaimer: (sniffles) Alright I confess I don't own Naruto there are you happy now blood sucking lawyers.

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**Ch. 16: A Confession **

"Gaara-kun," Kaoru shouted at him. She was deathly afraid that this time Hiroshi had gone too far. The Kazekage was furious. When Sasori had told them who had given them Kaoru's name a wave of pure rage had flooded Kaoru's senses. It was coming from Gaara and directed at Hiroshi. The man would be lucky to be alive once Gaara was finished with him. The Kazekage was currently storming through the town with one intention…to kill Hiroshi. Everyone was running after him trying to talk him out of it. Well, everyone except Sasori. He was just following to see what would happen. They weren't having any luck. Kaoru was still trying, "Please, Gaara-kun. Don't kill him."

"Why not?" he demanded.

Kaoru didn't come up with a good answer fast enough. Gaara kept walking in the direction of Hiroshi and Kaito. He found them in the training area. Hiroshi stood up when he saw them but didn't get a chance to say anything. Gaara had walked right up to him a punched him dead in the face. Hiroshi promptly flew across the area and into a wall. He got up and glared at Gaara who was walking over towards him.

"What's the big deal?!" he demanded of the Kazekage. Gaara didn't bother answering instead he hit him again.

Kaito ran up and got in between his brother and the Kazekage, "Why the hell are you attacking my brother?"

Gaara got and evil grin on his face and hit Kaito. The twins looked at Kaoru and began to plead with her, "Please Kaoru. Tell him to stop. We didn't even do anything wrong."

Gaara was about to say something when Temari stormed around them and stood directly in front of Hiroshi. She drew in a deep breath then…hit him as hard as she could. She kept hitting him while shouting, "This is for telling the Akatsuki Kaoru's name and getting us both kidnapped! Do you realize that they could have killed us both?! And you claim to love Kaoru you dumb ass! How dare you talk to her like she owes you something!"

The twins were forced to keep dodging her attacks or be seriously injured. Temari wasn't holding back. Kaoru started to walk forward but Gaara grabbed her arm and shook his head, "She has every right to be pissed. It is their fault that the two of you were kidnapped."

"I know. It's just that…" Kaoru didn't bother finishing.

Sasori stepped up next to her and asked, "Do you remember what we wanted in exchange for the two of you?"

She looked at him in confusion, "Yes. You wanted Gaara-kun to turn himself over to you without a fight."

"Then do you remember what the cost would have been?"

Kaoru's eyes widened as it sank in. They had wanted the Shukaku inside of Gaara. The problem was to take the demon from Gaara would kill her friend. As all of this registered she felt her own temper rise. Gaara watched her with interest. It was rare for her to even get irritated let alone pissed off. She slowly turned to face Hiroshi and Kaito. They looked at her with nervousness. They hadn't seen her this angry before either. When she was standing in front of Hiroshi she punched him as hard as she could. He looked at Kaoru in shock. In fact everyone but Gaara and Sasori did. None have them had ever expected Kaoru to get angry like this. They had thought she was entirely too shy and kind to get angry with the twins for kidnapping her.

"Kaoru," Hiroshi said in shock.

"You were willing to let Gaara-kun die. You were going to sacrifice him just because you're jealous," Kaoru stated in a dangerous tone. Her blood colored eyes no longer held kindness or pity for the man. Instead there was nothing but rage directed only at him. "Let me tell you this. If Gaara-kun had died because of you I would have hated you for the rest of your miserable life. Which wouldn't have been long because I would have destroyed you."

"Kaoru, how can you stand up for that monster?! Gaara is heartless. He doesn't care about anyone but himself," Hiroshi shouted at her.

"Shut up! You don't know him. You never even tried to know him. The minute you saw that he was my friend you hated him. Why, Hiroshi?! Why?!" she demanded.

"You want to know why. It's because he's not just your friend. You love him, don't you?"

Absolute silence fell as what he had said sank in. Gaara's sea foam eyes focused on Kaoru in shock. When he looked around he realized he was the only one. Even Sasori didn't look surprised even a little. Was what Hiroshi said true? If it was how come no body even looked surprise? Surely he wouldn't be the only one that didn't know. He focused back on Kaoru. She was looked at Hiroshi with anger but the rage that had burned in her was gone now. Instead there was a spark of fear in her eyes. Gaara looked at Hiroshi who was glaring at Gaara with absolute hatred. For the first time Gaara began to wonder about Kaoru's feelings for him. He had always known that she cared about him but it had never occurred to him that she could love him. Now that it had he had to wonder about his own feelings as well. He didn't know how he felt and he knew it would take a while for him to figure it out. Gaara had started to allow himself to feel but he still didn't understand all the emotions.

He glanced back at Hiroshi and then shoved the thoughts away for the moment. Everyone watched in amazement as Gaara's temper cooled. The brother and friend were gone as he pulled on the Kazekage. Kankuro shook his head. It was a shock to see his little brother change from friend to kage without hesitation. The Kazekage began to do his duty. He gazed at the twins with cool eyes, "Kankuro, Baki, take them into custody. They will appear before the council in three days for sentencing."

Kankuro nodded then took Hiroshi while Baki grabbed hold of Kaito. The two dragged them off to the prison until their appearance before the council. Gaara then turned to Kaoru and was the friend again. He tilted his head to the side, "You were angry because I could have died. Not because you got kidnapped."

"Of course," Kaoru responded as her anger returned. "You're my friend. I refuse to let anyone threaten your life without paying for it."

"Kaoru…you should worry about yourself a little more."

She smiled, "But if I did that then who would take care of you? You obviously don't do a very good job. Have you even eaten lunch yet?"

Temari grabbed Sasori and dragged him away. She knew her brother wouldn't comment on what Hiroshi had said until they were gone. Yuri followed them silently hoping that Gaara didn't hurt Kaoru. Her student was in love with Gaara. Yuri took one last look over her shoulder. Kaoru was looking at Gaara nervously. He was just watching the medic with those calm sea foam eyes. They left the two of them alone.

"Come with me, Kaoru," Gaara ordered.

Kaoru did exactly what he asked. Curiosity and a twinge of fear raced through her. What would he do now? He had heard what Hiroshi had said. Would Gaara ignore it? She was so worried about it that she hadn't noticed when he stopped. Kaoru crashed into his back and almost fell backwards. The sand reached up and caught her then just stayed there. She had a feeling it was there to keep her from running scared which, she would admit, was a very real possibility. He turned around to face her. She gulped.

"Do you see it?" he asked.

The medic blinked then looked around. Gaara had led her to the cliff that over looked the village. She gasped when she saw the large crater a few feet in front of her. It looked as if someone had slammed something huge into the ground. Kaoru looked at Gaara and finally answered him, "Yes."

"This is what I did when I found out what had happened to you."

Her eyes widened in surprise, "You did this? Why?"

"I was…angry and scared."

"You were…scared," she asked in disbelief. Kaoru couldn't think of anything that scared Gaara. He was always so calm that she couldn't even imagine it. If anyone had told her that Gaara was afraid of something then she would have laughed at them and then have them committed. "Of what?"

"Losing you. You're my best friend, Kaoru, and have been for several years. Do you know why I let Hiroshi live even though he pissed me off?"

"Why?"

"Because you didn't want me to kill him."

"I don't understand. What are you trying to tell me, Gaara-kun?" she asked him in confusion. Kaoru had an idea but she didn't want to get her hopes up.

Instead of answering her he asked, "Is what he said true? Do you really love me?"

Kaoru looked at him in consideration. When the feelings were directed at her she couldn't really tell what they were. She would sometimes get a small indication if it was powerful enough but most of the time she didn't even get a clue about what they were. If she told him her feelings first she would be doing so with no guarantee that he felt the same at all. She knew he cared about her and that she was his friend. But she only knew that because he told her so and his actions backed that up. Her crimson eyes looked directly into his sea foam gaze. Even now he appeared calm and collected. You couldn't even tell what he was thinking inside that over active brain of his. After a moment she took a deep breath and smiled, "What do you want me to say, Gaara-kun?"

"I want the truth, Kaoru," he stated.

"Gaara-kun…I…that's a loaded question. No matter what I say something changes and it might not be in a good way. I won't do anything to jeopardize our friendship. Don't ask me to," she pleaded without looking him in the eyes.

He reached out and took her chin in his hand forcing her to look at him. Her crimson eyes were filled with fear and desperation. Gaara kept his voice as calm as he could, "Kaoru, do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then answer my question. Was what Hiroshi said true?"

"Yes," her voice was a barely audible whisper and a single tear fell down her face.

Gaara felt something in him fill with an unfamiliar emotion. He couldn't identify it and he wasn't sure it mattered if he did. The only thing he did know was that she loved him for whatever reason. Now he knew he wouldn't let her go. Gaara worded his answer carefully, "I don't know how I feel, Kaoru. All I can say is I like knowing that you love me. I can also tell you that I don't like the idea of any other guy with you. Knowing how you feel sure as hell doesn't end our friendship."

She smiled, "That's a relief but what are you going to do about it?"

"When I know, you'll know."

"Alright."

He looked at her in disbelief, "It's that simple."

"Yes. Look, Gaara-kun, I don't expect miracles. To be honest I never even expected you to say that there was even a chance you loved me. Besides, it doesn't really matter if you do or not. It won't change how I feel. As long as you're still my friend I'll survive."

He shook his head at her, "You're weird."

Kaoru smiled, "Probably."

Gaara was about to comment when Baki came up to them, "Gaara-sama, we've just received word form the Land of Water. The Mizukage is ill and none of their medics can do anything. They've requested that we send our best medic in hopes that we'll have better luck."

Gaara nodded, "We'll send Kaoru. I will go with her."

"But…"

"That's my decision, Baki. She's originally from Kirigakure and I won't let her face those memories alone."

"As you wish, Gaara-sama," Baki said with a small grin. He then left to tell Yuri that he believed her student would be just fine.

Gaara turned to Kaoru, "You better get packed and make sure Kaede can care for Kohaku. We'll be leaving tomorrow." Kaoru nodded in agreement and started to head off but Gaara took her chin again, "This isn't over, Kaoru. I will figure out what's going on in my head and heart. When I do we'll talk again."

"Alright, Gaara-kun," she said with a smile.

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Ok so he's not as out of character as I originally thought. That's good. Please send be a review. 


	18. Returning to Kirigakure

I've finished the next chapter. I hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: i don't own Naruto

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**Ch. 17: Returning to Kirigakure**

Kaoru wasn't sure how she felt about this. She was currently on her way to the village where she had been born and where she spent the first five years of her life. It was also the place where her parents had died. Part of her was scared to go back there. Her nightmares had slowly gone away over the years and she was afraid that going back to Kirigakure would bring them back. She didn't complain though. That wouldn't be right. The Mizukage needed a medical nin and she had been selected for the task. It would be wrong to refuse just because she didn't want to have nightmares. Besides, she wasn't alone. Gaara was with her and so was Temari and Sasori.

It had upset the council to realize that Gaara was leaving for an undetermined amount of time but he wouldn't change him mind. As Kaoru's friend he couldn't let her go alone because the place held very painful memories for her. As the Kazekage it was a very good opportunity to develop a friendly relationship with Kirigakure. No one could argue with his logic. The council eventually agreed with Gaara provided that he took two people with him. They had hoped for Kankuro and Temari but no such luck. Gaara had left Baki and Kankuro in charge while he was away. He decided to take Temari and Sasori with him instead. It would keep Sasori out of trouble and Temari also refused to be left behind because Kaoru was her friend.

Gaara kept watch on their way since he didn't sleep on a regular basis anyway. Kaoru was never very far from him once the sun had set. Sasori could see the nervousness in the medics eyes. He was the only one not aware of Kaoru's history. He finally got curious enough to ask, "Why is everyone so nervous about you going to Kirigakure?"

"Well, I lived there until I was five years old. My parents were killed and I was sent to live with my mother's clan in Suna," Kaoru answered with a small sad smile.

"Why didn't you live with your father's clan?"

"They didn't want me. They...hadn't approved of my mother."

Gaara looked at her, "Who was your father's clan? I don't believe you've ever told us."

"It's the Kawaguchi clan."

Temari looked at Kaoru, "Isn't the current head of the clan the top strategist of the village?"

"I believe so. I'm not entirely sure who the head of the clan is now. When I lived there it was my grandfather but he might have retired by now and handed the title to someone else but I'm not sure."

"I guess we'll find out. Were will we be staying while we're there, Gaara-sama?" Temari asked.

Gaara just gave her a 'how the hell am I suppose to know' look then kept walking. Kaoru wasn't sleeping well and he knew it. Part of him wanted to turn around and take her back home but he knew he couldn't. Yuri was the only other medical nin with the kind of skill that Kaoru had and she couldn't come because she had to take care of the hospital. That left Kaoru. He also couldn't refuse to send anyone. That would insult the Land of Water and he couldn't do that. So his only real choice was to send Kaoru and go with her to support her.

They arrived in Kirigakure three days after they had left Suna. The group was welcomed by the Kirigakure council. They were all very solemn looking men and their greetings matched the look. The one that seemed to be the leader stepped forward and nodded to Gaara. He had dark hair that had streaks of gray and amber colored eyes. Kaoru would have guessed him to be in his late thirties to early forties. As a medic she could tell that he was still in shape and could probably still hold his own in a fight.

"Welcome to Kirigakure, Kazekage-sama. I am the head of Kirigakure's council, Daichi. We hope that your trip was uneventful."

Gaara nodded his head in return. His face and voice was emotionless when he replied, "It was."

"Who are the shinobi with you?"

Gaara motioned to each of them as he said their name, "My sister, Temari. A puppet master, Akasun. And our medical nin, Kaoru Tsukino."

It didn't surprise Temari or Kaoru to hear Gaara introduce Sasori by his last name. The group had previously agreed not to give them Sasori's full name since there was a high chance they would recognize it. His face wasn't widely recognized because he had spent most of his time inside the puppet so only his name could give him away. It wasn't a chance they had been willing to take. Sasori's last name wasn't widely known though so it seemed logical to use it. They had also agreed to introduce Kaoru last so that the council would ignore Sasori. It worked.

The council turned their attention to Kaoru, "So you're Suna's top medical nin. If I'm correct you're originally from here."

Kaoru gave her usual sweet smile, "Oh, I don't know about the top medical nin but I'm good. Yes, I lived in Kirigakure until I was about five years old."

Like everyone that received that smile the council responded. Each smiled in return and relaxed. Temari found herself smirking. It was impossible not to like Kaoru. The medic was very kind and it was extremely obvious. She wasn't that way because she wanted to gain something from anyone. Kaoru just was naturally accepting and loving. It was difficult not to like someone like that. If anyone ever managed it then that person had serious problems. Even Gaara had liked her when he didn't like anyone. In Temari's mind that was a huge accomplishment.

"Well, we won't waste any of your time. I'm sure you're tired from your journey and would like to rest. Follow me and I'll show you where you'll be staying," the head councilman stated.

"If it's all the same to you sir, I would like to check on the Mizukage first," Kaoru asked in a slightly nervous tone.

"Of course you can." He turned to one of the other council members, "Take the others to the compound."

Then man he had spoke two motioned for the others to follow. Temari and Sasori had stepped forward but Gaara shook his head and said, "I'm staying with Kaoru."

"As you wish, Kazekage-sama," Daichi stated unruffled.

Temari and Sasori followed the other council members to the place they would be staying at for their stay. Gaara and Kaoru followed Daichi to the Mizukage's home. He was laying on his bed and looking decidedly grumpy. Kaoru smiled as she recognized him. He had been the Mizukage when she had lived there. The two kages exchanged nods then the Mizukage's eyes focused on Kaoru.

"You've grown up, Little Kaoru."

"Yes I have, Hayate-sama," Kaoru stated with a smile. She motioned to Gaara as she introduced him, "This is Sabaku no Gaara, the Kazekage. Gaara-kun this is Hayate-sama, the Mizukage."

Hayate took another look at Gaara. So this was the fourth Kazekage of Suna. The Mizukage had heard that he was young but he had expected Gaara to be at least over 20 but the boy was barely 16 years old. He looked back at Kaoru when he noticed she had come closer. She smiled at him and placed glowing green hands on his temples. He relaxed and allowed her to examine him without any trouble. A few moments later she sat back with a frown.

"Well, I know what's wrong with you but it will take time for me to make the antidote. I'll come in at least once a day to slow the progress of the disease until I can give you the medicine for it."

"How long?" Gaara asked.

"About two weeks. I'll have to find all the ingredients and mix them together properly. The antidote takes about a day to make and some of the ingredients are very rare," Kaoru answered absently as she began to take care of the damage she could fix. "The good news is the disease hasn't spread very far so it will be easy enough to keep it at bay until I can make the medicine."

When Kaoru stood she stumbled from the use of too much chakra. Gaara caught her with little trouble. Once she was steady on her feet again he let her go and she smiled at him. The Mizukage mentally smiled. His voice remained neutral however, "Feel free to stay as long as you wish. You should know that you'll be staying at the Kawaguchi compound. They volunteered to let you stay with them for as long as you're here."

A faint flicker of pain and sadness passed over Kaoru's eyes before she hid it with a smile. Gaara's face was expressionless as usual. The two left Hayate-sama's home. Daichi was waiting for them. He led them to the Kawaguchi compound. Kaoru was deep in thought about the family she had never known. They had never had anything to do with her and as far as she knew they liked it that way. She wondered why they were letting her stay with them now, ten years after she had been sent to live with the Tsukino clan.

Daichi left them at the gate to the compound. A man that was about Kankuro's age walked out of the building. He smiled in greeting, "You must be the Kazekage-sama and Kaoru Kawaguchi. Welcome."

"Tsukino," Gaara stated.

The man blinked, "What?"

"Her name is Kaoru Tsukino," the Kazekage clarified. He had already decided that he didn't like this clan. They had abandoned a scared five year old girl for a decision that hadn't been hers to begin with. Kaoru had been hated by this clan for her parents' choice. He couldn't forgive them for that even if Kaoru could.

Kaoru smiled at Gaara. She felt the anger simmering in him directed at the clan and for some reason it comforted her to know that he was angry on her behalf. She looked at the man, "May I ask what you're name is?"

The man looked back at her and gave a smile, "Of course. My name is Kyo. I'm the current head of the family and your cousin, Kaoru."

"I'm sorry. I don't know you. My father's clan never had anything to do with me or my father after he married my mother. I didn't even know I had an uncle let alone a cousin," Kaoru said apologetically. Kyo had been expecting her to know his name. When she said this something flickered in his eyes. She felt the small wave of regret and guilt. He felt bad for his clan's treatment of her. Kaoru smiled at him, "I can't wait to get to know you though."

Kyo smiled, "Same here, Kaoru Tsukino. Now follow me and I'll lead you to your rooms."

Gaara's room was right next to Kaoru's so he didn't say a single word. The two of them walked into Gaara's room since they both knew Sasori and Temari were inside. The group talked for a moment about how long they would have to stay and why. Eventually Sasori and Temari headed to their rooms. Kaoru turned to Gaara with a smile.

"I better go to bed too. I'll need my strength." She hesitated then said, "Gaara-kun, I know you don't like this clan and I understand why but...try to get along with them."

He watched her for a moment then nodded. She smiled then went to her own room. Kaoru sat down on her bed and stared out the window. She felt exhausted but she couldn't sleep. The dreams would come. She could feel it. When they came she would cry out and disturb Gaara. She didn't want that. The medic couldn't avoid sleep forever though. She fell into a sound sleep a few minutes later.

_She was running through the house. It was dark. So dark that she could barely see two steps in front of her. Because of this she didn't know where she was or where she was going. All she knew was that she was running through a house. For some reason she was deathly afraid. She couldn't figure out why. Then she saw a dim light in front of her. She smiled in relief and ran straight for it. She burst into a very familiar room with a single candle lit. The fear came back stronger than ever. Her eyes focused on one spot on the floor. Two bodies were on the floor covered in blood. She knew who they were._

_Her voice was filled with fear, pain, and sadness when she cried out, "Mommy! Daddy!"_

_Something moved in one of the shadows. A scream tore from her throat as dark eyes focused on her and a razor sharp smile formed on the shadows face. He was coming towards her. She turned and began to run away but it was like she was running in place while he kept getting closer and closer to her. She screamed again._

"Kaoru!" Gaara shouted. Her crimson eyes were wide open but they weren't seeing him. She struggled against something that was terrifying her. He pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her. His voice was demanding as he repeated himself, "Kaoru, wake up."

Kaoru whimpered but her struggles stopped. She gripped his shirt in both hands and snuggled closer. Her body was still shaking. He just held her while she began to calm down again. Gaara had been reading a book when he heard her scream. He rushed to her side as fast as he could. It had just been a dream and that relieved him. At the same time it worried him.

"I'm sorry, Gaara-kun," she whispered. Her shaking was finally subsiding into a small trembling.

"For what?"

"I didn't mean to disturb you."

Gaara suppressed the urge to growl but his voice still held some of it, "What makes you think that matters to me? First of all, I don't sleep so it isn't like you woke me up. Second, you're my friend, Kaoru. If the situation was reversed would you care at all that I woke you up?"

She shook her head.

"Then just say thank you."

She smiled, "Thank you, Gaara-kun."

"Tell me about it," he ordered.

She didn't have to ask what he was talking about. Kaoru drew in a deep breath and told him everything she remembered about the dream. Her voice shook slightly, "You already know part of it. It was about the night my parents were killed..."

Gaara listened to her without comment. Kaoru finished telling him about it, "It's always the same dream too. To be honest I don't know why there is always the shadow in the room. But he's always there with those dark eyes and evil smile."

"Do you remember seeing someone else there that night?" he asked.

"No. Actually I blacked out. When I woke up, Hayate-sama was carrying me out of the house and there were police crawling all over the place."

He frowned and thought about everything she had told him. It was possible that the person who had killed her parents had still been in the room. It's possible that she had been knocked out by that person. Maybe her subconscious might be trying to remind her. Gaara eventually just shrugged it off. If she remembered he would help her deal with it. In the mean time he would just keep the nightmares at bay.

While he had been thinking about her nightmare, Kaoru had begun to fall asleep. Gaara always made her feel so safe and secure. She felt her eyes closing and knew that she wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer. Gaara looked down when he felt her snuggle closer. She was sound asleep. He felt the smile tug at his mouth. The Kazekage settled back against the headboard then fell into a light sleep himself.

Kaoru woke up by herself the next morning. She sat up and looked out the window. The sun was shining brightly and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. A voice got her attention from the doorway, "You're awake."

She looked over with a smile, "Morning, Gaara-kun. I'll be out in just a minute."

He nodded and left her to get ready. Kaoru came into the kitchen a few minutes later. Her friends were at the table eating. Other than that she only recognized two other people at the table. One was Kyo and the other was Daichi, the head councilman. She assumed the rest were members of the Kawaguchi clan. A woman sat next to him and had her dark hair up in a bun. She gazed at Kaoru with dark blue eyes. An old man sat at the end of the table and was also gazing at Kaoru through sharp golden eyes.

Kyo was sitting at the table too and gave her a large smile. He was sitting next to a woman with a shy smile around Kaoru's age. He waved cheerfully, "Good morning, Kaoru-san. Please have a seat and join us for breakfast."

Kaoru took the seat in between Gaara and Sasori. Both men nodded to her in greeting and Temari waved at Kaoru from the other side of Sasori. Kaoru smiled at all of them the looked at Kyo, "Good morning, Kyo-san. Please just call me Kaoru. No one adds the suffixes to my name."

"Then call me Kyo. You're family after all. Let me introduce you to everyone. This is my wife, Ayame, my father, Daichi, and my mother, Megumi. That's our grandfaher, Makoto."

Kaoru smiled at them, "It's nice to meet you. These are my friends. Sabaku no Gaara, the Kazekage, his sister Temari, and a friend of mine, Akasun."

Everyone exchanged the usual 'nice to meet yous' then Makoto turned his attention back to Kaoru, "So you're the granddaughter that I never met. Your father went through a lot of trouble to keep it that way."

Kaoru's hands fisted under the table. She had been only been a child when she lived here but even then she had known that her father's family hadn't wanted her. It hadn't been her father that had kept the distance between them. It had been the Kawaguchi's that had pushed her father and his family away. A hand covered her fisted hands. She looked up into Gaara's sea foam eyes. She smiled at him and let her hands relax again.

She looked back at her grandfather, "Yes, sir."

"Well, it looks like you've done well in life."

Gaara was looking at Makoto with cold eyes. He would give Kyo a benefit of a doubt because he had been a child at the time. Makoto however had definitely been old enough to know that he was treating Kaoru wrong. Now the old man was blaming it on her father like she didn't know why she was living with the Tsukinos instead of them. Makoto met his gaze for a second then looked away. Gaara smirked, "She's now our top medical nin and a member of Suna's council."

Daichi looked at Kaoru in surprise, "I though you were only 16."

"She is only 16 years old. Kaoru was 14 when she joined the council," Temari added with a grin. She knew what her brother was up to. He wanted the Kawaguchi's to regret the way they treated Kaoru. So he told them of her accomplishments. They would see what t jewel they had let get away. Not only that but it would remind Kaoru that she was worth something even though these people didn't think so.

Everyone at the table but the sand nins looked at Kaoru in surprise. Kyo smiled, "Way to go cuz."

Kaoru gave a small shy smile, "I'm not that great. I only got the position because Yuri-sensei is training me to take her place when she retires."

"Who's Yuri?" Kyo's wife, Ayame, asked quietly. She had silver hair and eyes so blue they were almost purple. Unlike the others at the table she was a civilian.

"She's the head of Suna's medical core," Kaoru answered with a smile.

"How long have you been training?" Kyo asked curiously. He was eager to get to know his cousin. He could never understand his grandfather's dislike of the girl especially after he had met her. Kaoru was obviously a kind girl. Her best friend was Sabaku no Gaara after all. The man was once called a monster that was impossible to befriend yet she had. From what he had heard she did it with little trouble.

"Since I was about six years old. Yuri pulled me out of the ninja academy to train me as a medic."

"How did that happen?"

She smiled, "Well we were being trained how to control our chakra control. I was the first to understand and Yuri-sensei was watching. She asked me if I had any plans for my future and when I told her I didn't she offered to teach me to be a medical nin."

The conversation between the cousins went on. Kaoru was just a eager to learn about the only family she had on her father's side that was interested in her. They talked about everything they could think of. Ayame joined in the conversation several times as did Temari. Gaara and Sasori were both finding it amusing that one side of the table was lively and happy while the other was quiet and sober. They exchanged a look and came to an agreement. This could be a very interesting two weeks.

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That's it for now. I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible. Now just in case you think you are I should tell you...you're not finished with this chapter. Want to know why? If you're still reading this then you haven't reviewed yet and you're not finished with this chapter until you've reviewed. 


	19. Attempted Murder

Sorry it's been so long since i've updated. I wasn't going to post this chapter until I had the next one ready but I'm experience a slight writers block so I'll go ahead and post it

By the way I'm have info on all current stories and possible stories on my profile if anyone decides they want to take a look at it. Feel free to comment on any of the possible stories if you want to. All comments will be welcomed except for flames of course. Those are never welcomed.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto already

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**Ch. 18: Attempted Murder **

Gaara was annoyed. At first he had managed to hide it well but recently his temper was getting the better of him. Kaoru was exhausting herself. Every morning she went to visit the Mizukage and heal what damage she could. Later she would start trying to find the ingredients for the antidote. Gaara hadn't even heard of some of them. Added to all of this she was dealing with relatives that obviously didn't want anything to do with her. The only ones that seemed to care about her at all were Kyo and his wife, Ayame. They were always happy to talk to Kaoru and in fact went out of their way to do so. Then there were the nightmares. Gaara didn't even bother going to his own room anymore. The first three nights he had but had rushed to her side when he heard her scream. It was the same dream every night and if he left her alone it was worse.

They were currently waiting in the Kawaguchi compound. A member of their clan was suppose to be returning from another village. Kaoru wanted to meet them so she was waiting with the rest of the clan. Gaara refused to leave her alone with them so he stayed with her. The new member walked into the compound. She smiled at everyone and when she noticed Kaoru and Gaara she tilted her head to the side in curiosity until she saw Kaoru's headband in her hair. Then her ruby colored eyes widened in fear.

"Kaoru, this is my younger sister, Yumi. Yumi this is our cousin, Kaoru Tsukino. She's a medical nin," Kyo made the introductions. When he told Yumi that Kaoru was a medical nin she seemed to relax a little.

Kaoru smiled and the girl relaxed even more, "It's nice to meet you, Yumi."

"The pleasure is mine, Kaoru," she responded in a quiet shy voice. Then here eyes focused Gaara in curiosity.

"This is my friend, Sabaku no Gaara. He's the Kazekage of Suna," Kaoru explained with a smile. The girl started to tremble and her eyes widened in fear. Yumi's reaction didn't really surprise Gaara or Kaoru. Gaara was known as a monster outside of Suna and, as Hiroshi had proven, there were even people in Suna that still believed he was a monster.

Kyo shook his head, "You'll have to excuse, Yumi. She's terrified of ninjas."

"I'm sorry. We didn't mean to frighten you," Kaoru said to her.

The girl seemed get a hold of herself but her eyes still held fear. She shook her head at Kaoru, "It's not your fault. I've gotten better over the years but I'm still afraid of them."

Then Temari and Sasori walked into the room. Kaoru thought Yumi was going to have a heart attack on the spot but she managed to get control of herself. The introductions were made and everyone settle down to eat lunch. When lunch was done Temari and Sasori walked with Kaoru over to the Mizukage's home. Gaara turned to Kyo.

"I need to talk to you."

"What do you need, Gaara-sama?" Kyo asked curiously. Up to now Gaara avoided talking to everyone in the Kawaguchi clan.

"I want to send a message to Konoha. There's a medical nin there with skills just as good as Kaoru's. I want her to come here to help Kaoru take care of the Mizukage."

Kyo smiled. He had noticed how tired Kaoru had been after a session at Hayate-sama's. It was taking a lot out of her to heal him every day. He nodded, "Alright. Give me the message and I'll send someone to deliver it immediately."

Gaara nodded. He handed the letter to Kaoru's cousin then left to find his friend. He found Sasori and Temari first. They said that Kaoru was inside the Kage's and they were waiting for her. He sat down next to them and listened to the two of them argue over something Sasori had done to annoy Temari. He apparently couldn't understand why it annoyed the wind mistress so much. She couldn't understand why he didn't understand. Gaara was finding the whole thing amusing. He glanced out the window and felt panic race through him.

Kaoru had just finished at the Mizukage's and was coming out. She glanced around and saw her friends in the restaurant and started over to them. As she was walking across the street a rain of kunai came down. She yelped and started to dodge them. A part of her realized that there was no way she could dodge them all. As if to support her thoughts a kunai hit her in the arm. Another embedded itself into her leg. Suddenly a dome of sand formed around her. Kaoru stood there in the dome and relaxed. She knew it was Gaara's sand. The sand melted away after a minute or two. She looked over as her friends rushed over.

"Kaoru, are you alright?" Temari demanded.

"I'm fine. Just a scratch or two."

She started to walk but fell down. Gaara caught her and then lifted her up bridal style. Temari was standing next to them. Sasori rushed to the area where the attack had come from. After making sure that Kaoru was alright, Temari joined the puppet master. They began to hunt for the one who had attacked Kaoru.

Gaara took Kaoru back to the Kawaguchi compound to treat her wounds. Ayame and Yumi were the only ones that were there. The two women rushed over to Kaoru when they saw she was injured. Gaara took Kaoru to her room and set her down on the bed. The girls rushed over and began to treat her injuries. Kaoru was too low on chakra to do it herself. She felt like she had been stabbed. Oh wait, she had been. She fell asleep thinking that it had probably been an accident. She hadn't been there long enough for anyone to want to kill her. She would find out soon enough that she was wrong.

When Makoto heard about what had happened he had criticized Kaoru's skills as a kunoichi. Gaara had given him a look that said that the old man that he was about to die. Temari had quickly asked Gaara to go check on Kaoru and made sure no one else went with him. Once he had left the room she had glared at Kaoru's grandfather and told him that if he valued his life he wouldn't say anything bad about Kaoru in front of the Kazekage. After all, next time Temari might be too angry herself to save him. Then his only hope was Kaoru because Sasori really didn't care one way or the other if the old man lived or died.

Temari and Kaoru went for a walk in the forest outside the village that night. They had wanted to get away from the people and have some girl time. Temari could also see that Kaoru needed a break. She was obviously tired and it was annoying Gaara. After her brother had nearly lost control of his temper earlier, the wind mistress decided it was best if she take Kaoru somewhere so she could relax. Kaoru looked over at Temari with a smile.

"So, have you admitted to yourself that you have a thing for Sasori?"

Temari looked over at her in surprise, "I do not."

Kaoru just gave her a look that told Temari that the medic didn't believe her for a second. Temari let out a sigh. How did you argue about feelings with someone that had magical empathy? You didn't. Kaoru knew what people were feeling before they did. She looked over at her friend.

"Alright. Alright. I admit it. I have a thing for him. It's kind of weird since half the time I want to punch him and the other half of the time I want to do something to make him smile. I've never felt that way before."

"I would say I can relate but I can't. I am in love with someone but I rarely want to hit him. Then again you're different from me. You're stronger and more confident. I suppose your reaction to love would be different."

Temari shot Kaoru a look and said, "Wait a minute! I never said I was in love with him."

Kaoru smiled, "Are you going to tell me you're not?"

The wind mistress looked away and grumbled, "I didn't say that either."

The medic was about to say something when a man dressed in black rushed at them. The girls barely had time to dodge his attack. Temari reacted quickly and used her Daikamaitachi no Jutsu to try to catch him but he hid. For a moment the girls thought he had left. Then a hand came out of the ground and grabbed Kaoru's ankle. She cried out in surprise before he started to pull her down. Thinking quickly she focused medical chakra into the spot he was holding and he let go in pain. She didn't know exactly what she had done to his hand but he had let go and that was all that mattered. The girls looked around wondering where he would come from next. There was suddenly a large fireball heading their way. Temari jumped down in front of Kaoru and used her Daikamaitachi no Jutsu again to force the fireball to avoid them. Some of the flames scraped the two girls as it past just left of them.

Once the fireball had past them Temari grabbed Kaoru's wrist and pulled her behind her. The wind mistress was running for the village. Kaoru wasn't in any condition to fight. Her leg and arm were still injured from the day before and she was low on chakra from healing the Mizukage earlier that day. The girls had to dodge several more attacks but once they reached the village gates the attacks stopped. When Gaara and Sasori saw them they rushed over to them. Temari and Kaoru explained what had happened. The men placed the girls in their beds and treated their injuries. Both of them had burn marks and Kaoru had reopened her wounds from earlier.

Sasori came into the room Gaara was in with Kaoru and told him that Temari hadn't seen the face of the man who had attacked them. The Kazekage felt like hitting something. What he would give for someone to piss him off right then so he would have a reason to. Sasori went back to Temari. He wouldn't admit it but he was worried about her.

Gaara stayed put. He refused to leave Kaoru's side. Someone had tried to kill her. He wasn't going to let them have a second chance at her. He swore that he would protect her. Gaara hadn't been able to protect her from the Akatsuki when they had kidnapped her. This time would be different. He would protect her from whoever this was. He wouldn't let anyone get to her again.

Kaoru had fallen asleep while her wounds were being treated. Gaara sat down on the window seat and began to think. Kaoru hadn't even set foot in Kirigakure since she was five years old so who could possibly have a reason to kill her? Maybe someone wanted the Mizukage dead but killing Kaoru wouldn't work. There were other medical nins with her skill and knowledge. The village would just have one of them come. They had only asked for Kaoru because she was technically a member of one of the clans here. The problem was that was the only reason Gaara could come up with.

The door opened and Gaara looked over. Sasori walked in, "Is she alright?"

The Kazekage nodded then looked back to the window, "Why? It doesn't make any sense. Who would want to kill Kaoru?"

Sasori considered this then said, "I can think of only three reasons. The first is to prevent the Mizukage from regaining his health."

"Killing her wouldn't prevent it. Just slow down the process," Gaara stated.

"The next is to get to you." When Gaara gave him a look Sasori just smirked, "Like it or not she matters to you and that makes her your weakness. That's why I kidnapped her, remember?"

"I remember. You should feel lucky to be alive. If Kaoru and Temari hadn't defended you I would have killed you the moment I realized it was you that had taken her."

"I know."

Gaara let out a frustrated sigh, "It doesn't make sense either. Why kill her for that? You kidnapped her because she's more use to someone trying to get to me alive than dead. Killing her still doesn't help anyone. Just pisses me off enough to tear apart the whole damn village to find her killer."

Sasori nodded in agreement, "That leaves the third option. It's personal. Someone really doesn't like your Kaoru."

Gaara chose to ignore the 'your Kaoru' remark and asked, "Who hates Kaoru at all let alone enough to kill her?"

Sasori shrugged, "I don't know. As far as I can tell it's next to impossible to hate Kaoru."

Gaara sat there for a moment in silence. Then he remembered something and sat up, "It's not hate. It's fear. She knows something but can't remember it."

"Are you going to elaborate on that or am I suppose to guess?"

"She's had the same nightmare every night since we've arrived. It centers around the night her parents died. At the end of the dream she sees a shadow walking towards her."

"You think she saw the person who murdered her parents," Sasori commented.

Gaara nodded. The two thought about this. After a moment they exchanged a look. Gaara said, "I've asked Sakura to come and help Kaoru with the Mizukage. She'll bring Sasuke with her. With them around we'll have help. Kaoru is not to be left alone at any time."

Sasori nodded, "Agreed."

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The next day Sakura and Sasuke arrived. Kaoru was very happy to see her friends. The two girls hugged and Sakura explained, "Gaara was worried about you. He said you were exhausting yourself and asked if I could come help relieve some of the burden. We couldn't refuse of course."

Kaoru shot Gaara a large smile. His mouth curved in response. Sasuke was standing next to Gaara and smirked, "So you two finally get together or are you still in denial?"

Gaara gave him a look that could send an ANBU running for cover. Sasuke just continued to smirk. Then Gaara got an identical look, "What about you, Sasuke Uchiha? Finally give in to Sakura or are you still pretending like you don't like her?"

Sasuke glared at Gaara. The two men looked at the girls that meant more to them than their own lives. Kaoru was filling Sakura in on the details of the Mizukage's health. The pink haired girl made comments on where to find some of the ingredients for the medicine and they agreed to take turns to heal the damage done by the disease. Gaara looked over at Sasori who nodded his head. Then the Kazekage motioned for Sasuke to follow him. The Uchiha did out of curiosity. When they were out of hearing range of the girls Gaara told Sasuke what had happened to Kaoru and what they suspected. Sasuke listened without comment until Gaara was finished.

"Have you tried helping her memories along?" he asked after Gaara had finished.

"No. How do you suggest I do that?"

"Take her to her parents' house if it's still there."

Gaara almost said that he wouldn't do that but then reconsidered. It could be the only way to get Kaoru to remember what happened that night. If they were wrong about the reason behind the attack he would rather know now rather than later. So instead of disagreeing he nodded his head, "That might work. I'll talk to her about it. One other thing. Tell Sakura about this too. She'll need to know what's going on."

"Doesn't Kaoru know?"

"She knows she was attacked but I don't think it's crossed her mind to worry about why. We haven't mentioned it to her."

"You'll need to tell her, Gaara."

"I know."

A few hours later Gaara took Kaoru out for a walk. When they were outside the village and alone he looked over to her. His sea foam eyes locked onto her crimson eyes. She looked at him in concern. The medic knew something was bothering him and wished he would just talk already. He was making her nervous.

"What is it, Gaara-kun? Just tell me."

"Someone tried to kill you."

"I know. Is that way you and Sasori have been keeping an eye on me?"

"Yes. We think it's because of your parents' death. You keep seeing a shadow in your dreams. I think someone is afraid you'll remember the rest of the face."

She considered this for a moment, "Then why didn't they kill me then?"

"I don't know. It's only one of the reasons we thing is possible but it's the most likely."

She nodded, "Alright. What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to come with me tomorrow to...your parents' house."

Kaoru felt fear wash through her and she almost panicked. Then she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath and let it back out. Her eyes opened, "Okay. I can do that as long as you're with me, Gaara-kun."

So the next day the sand shinobi along with Sakura and Sasuke went to Kaoru's old house. She was surprised to see it was still standing. No one even lived there. Apparently no one found a use for the place or the land so it just stayed abandoned. The moment Kaoru saw the place she reached out and grabbed Gaara's hand. He told himself that he didn't pull away because of the small trembles in her hand. The Kazekage gazed at the house hoping he was doing the right thing.

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There it is. I'll try to finish the next chapter as soon as possible. Hope you enjoyed. Now all I ask for is a couple of reviews. 


	20. The Past

I know it's been awhile but I've been really busy. Anyways here's the chapter. Enjoy

Disclaimer: see other chapters because I have no intention of repeating myself right now

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**Ch. 19: The Past **

They were walking through the old house. The closer Kaoru got to the living room the more afraid she became. The more afraid she became the closer she got to Gaara. Gaara let her because he knew she was afraid. He knew that she needed the comfort his presence gave her. The group walked into the room were her parents had been killed. A layer of dust coated everything in sight. Several of the objects were broken from the fight that had taken place in the room. There was a red stain in the center of the room.

Kaoru was shaking visibly now. She really didn't want to be here but her friends were right. If there was a chance that she could remember what had happened that night she needed to try. Someone was trying to kill her and it was possible that it was the same person that had killed her parents.

As she looked into the room she could still see the bodies that had once been her parents. She could see the shadows and feel the same fear that had filled her then. It was like having the dream only she was awake instead of asleep. She couldn't look away from that red stain on the ground. Gaara reached over and made her look at him. She blinked when her eyes met his.

"Don't focus on that. We need to know what happened after," Gaara stated.

Kaoru nodded then looked back at the room. She avoided looking at the spot where her parents had died. Instead she looked at the spot where the man had come from. She could almost see the shadow that came towards her. Her voice was barely a whisper, "I can't see his face. Just that smile that sends chills down my spine."

Sasori's voice was calm as usual, "Didn't they catch the man who did this?"

"No. They did blame someone though. They thought that it was Kisame Hoshigaki. I don't know if they were right or not. Part of me doesn't think so because he didn't have a reason to."

Sasori considered what she had said. She was right. Kisame didn't waste energy. He wouldn't have attacked her parents without a reason to and from what Sasori had heard he didn't have a reason. The shark man also didn't kill children. He wouldn't have attacked Kaoru then like the shadow in her dream had. Children are helpless and couldn't give a challenge. Kisame loved a challenge and hated an easy fight. No, it wasn't the sharkface that had attacked Kaoru's parents.

"Why did they blamed Kisame?"

"He had been the one to take me to the Mizukage's. I was unconscious. He was also the one that had told Hayate-sama that my parents were dead. By the time they had confirmed their deaths he was gone and next thing they knew he had joined the Akatsuki. Everyone presumed he had done it and just let me live for some reason."

Kaoru tried to remember all she could. She remembered running in the opposite direction of the man in the shadow. So she turned and walked in the directions she had gone back then. Then she had gotten outside and someone had been there. She frowned. Who had it been? Kaoru grabbed her head as she tried to remember.

She had run out of the house and could hear the person behind her. He was calling her name. She had just kept running until she crashed into something. When she had looked up it was to see a blue face with spiked dark hair. The face had looked down at her with consideration. She had looked up at him in pure fear. Then he had smiled at her and picked her up. She could hear his calm voice telling her that she was alright now. After he had told her that she had passed out. The next thing she remembered was waking up while the Mizukage carried her our of her house.

Gaara walked up beside her and took her wrists in his hands. She had still been holding her head in her hands. He pulled her arms down and she opened her eyes and looked up at him. There was concern in his sea foam eyes and he didn't release her wrists. She gave him a small smile.

"I can't remember his face. I do remember that it wasn't Kisame. He was the one that brought me to Mizukage-sama and told them what had happened to my family. He wasn't the one chasing me through the house. He had been outside and I crashed into him. I think the only reason I'm still alive is because whoever killed my parents didn't want to mess with Kisame."

Gaara looked back up at the house, "That rules him out. That means we're probably right about the reason for the attacks on you. Whoever it was didn't get to finish the job. You were sent away to Suna before he got a second chance."

"What are we going to do, Gaara? Kaoru won't leave until the Mizukage has been healed and that man with continue to attack until he wins," Temari stated.

Kaoru didn't look away from Gaara. He looked worried and if she looked carefully she could see the fear deep in his eyes. Those same emotions came off of him in gentle waves as he considered all the possibilities. His sea foam eyes suddenly focused on her.

"You don't remember anything that can give us a clue about who it was?"

She shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry, Gaara-kun, but all I remember is a shadow running after me. No matter how hard I try I can't see his face. I remember his voice but that's it. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Kaoru. Stop apologizing," Gaara ordered her with some irritation. He looked at the others, "We can't let Kaoru out of our sight. One of us has to be with her at all times."

They nodded. Sasuke spoke in his calm tone, "When I'm with her so is Sakura."

"I'm sure just one of us is needed at a time, Sasuke-kun," Sakura commented.

"No."

"But, Sasuke-kun…" she started to argue with him.

He interrupted with a rare show of temper, "I won't leave you unprotected, Sakura."

Kaoru looked at him with a smile. She knew how Sasuke felt about her friend. He wouldn't say it out loud but the feelings directed at the Konoha medic were stronger than any of his other emotions. Even his hate for his brother didn't compare to the feelings he had for his medic. Sakura on the other had hadn't expected that response from him. Her green eyes widened in surprise.

"Sasuke-kun…"

He looked away from her because he was suddenly very uncomfortable with the situation. He hadn't meant to tell her that but just the thought of not being there to protect her made him angry. There was a killer on the loose and she expected him to just leave her alone. She was insane. He still hadn't meant to tell her that though. Oh, well. It was said and he couldn't unsay it.

"You heard me. I'm not leaving you unprotected."

"I can protect myself you know," Sakura stated.

"I know that."

"Then why are you so stubborn."

His temper ignited again, "Kaoru can protect herself too but she still got injured by this man. I don't want to find out you were hurt when I wasn't there. Do you know what that will do to me? If anything happens I have to be there to help you. Live with it."

With that Sasuke turned to Sasori and Gaara to discuss the schedule for guarding Kaoru. It was his way of telling everyone that the subject was closed. Sakura looked at him in irritation she walked off a little ways. Kaoru sighed and went over to her pink haired friend. They stood there in silence for a moment. Kaoru kept her voice down low so that the others couldn't hear her.

"He's afraid you know."

Sakura looked at her and also kept her voice low, "Of what?"

"Of losing you. He cares about you. The idea of you getting hurt when he's not there both scares him and angers him."

Sakura's eyes darted over to Sasuke, "He could have just told me."

"You know as well as I do that it's not that easy for Sasuke. He doesn't know how to express emotions very well. He doesn't even like to express them. You saw how embarrassed he got when he let his temper get the better of him. You just have to learn to see what he's not saying," Kaoru told her friend with a smile.

The Konoha medic smiled, "I suppose you're right."

Kaoru smiled, "You know I am. I have an advantage over you."

"Right. Your kekkei genkai." Sakura looked back at Sasuke then her eyes focused on Kaoru, "Can you tell me how he feels about me, Kaoru? I…I really want to know."

Kaoru's eyes soften, "I can but I won't. It's not my place. You'll just have to do what I said. See what he's not saying. For people like Sasuke that's what matters."

Sakura nodded in agreement. It was true. With Sasuke it was what he didn't say that truly mattered to him. If he let you see it chances were he didn't care as much about it. Then a thought occurred to her and asked, "You know that Gaara is the same way right, Kaoru?"

Kaoru blinked, "What do you mean?"

"You told me that you can't tell what people feel towards you, right?"

"That's right," the Suna medic replied with a confused look.

"You love Gaara right?" Sakura pressed.

"Yes."

"Do you know how he feels about you?"

"No. He doesn't even know how he feels about me, Sakura. At least that's what he said."

"He's like Sasuke, Kaoru. He doesn't tell people how he feels. It's in his actions. You just have to see what he's not saying."

Sakura walked over to Sasuke before Kaoru could reply to this. Kaoru watched as her friend said something to the Uchiha. He nodded to her and replied. She smiled and stayed next to him and continued to talk about something. Kaoru smiled and looked behind her when she sensed someone there. She smiled at Gaara then looked back at her friends from Konoha. Gaara followed her gaze.

"You know that it's only a matter of time before those two admit how they feel about each other right?" he asked her.

"I know. Actually, Sasuke already knows how Sakura feels. And he tells her how he feels but not in words. His confession is in his actions. Sakura will just have to see it for herself."

Gaara looked at her, "What did she say to you before going over there? You looked shocked."

Kaoru suddenly started acting nervous, "Oh it was nothing important. Ummm, can we leave now? This place gives me the creeps."

"Sure. Let's go back to the compound."

As the group walked away Kaoru looked over her shoulder. She could have sworn that there was someone watching her. When she didn't see anyone she shrugged it off. It was probably just the house itself giving her the creeps. That place was her nightmare after all. It was understandable that she was getting that weird feeling from it. She looked forward again glad to have that place behind her where it belonged.

In the shadows a man watched the group walk away. He chuckled to himself, "So she doesn't remember who I am. That's good. It will make things easier. I guess its time I eat dinner with the family. Well, little Kaoru, we'll meet again real soon."

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That night another man came to dinner. He looked just like Kaoru's father except older. He had golden eyes and hair as dark as her own. Kaoru could barely remember her father but she had known that he had a twin. That twin was actually one of the reasons the clans hadn't approved of her parent's marriage. Her mother had originally been brought to Kirigakure to marry her father's twin.

Kaoru examined the man that resembled her father so much. His name was Ken and he had been the older of the twins. In order to make an alliance between Suna and Kirigakure they had arranged for her mother to marry Ken. However it had been Kaoru's father that had escorted her mother from Suna to here. Along the way they had fallen in love with each other. From what Kaoru had been told by her parents they had simply told everyone that they would be together whether they had approved or not. As a result, the two clans cut off all ties with her parents. None of them had even come to see Kaoru after she had been born. A few months before the deaths of her parents died the Tsukino clan started to open up communications with them again. The Kawaguchi clan had remained stubbornly cold towards them. It didn't seem to bother either of her parents though her mother had been thrilled to hear from her family again. Kaoru remembered her parents talking about moving to Suna because the Tsukino clan had invited them to come stay with them.

She continued to watch Ken from across the table. There was tension between him and her grandfather because of something her uncle had done. Kaoru was trying to sort through that tension and the reasons for it when Ken looked into her eyes and smiled. She automatically smiled back and started to concentrate on what he was saying to her. It was nice to hear stories about her father from someone in the clan who hadn't hated him. Sure Kyo was kind and didn't seem to disapprove of what her father and mother had done but he hadn't known her father.

Gaara looked over at the man that sat across from Kaoru. Ken was looking at Kaoru with a smile but something told Gaara that he didn't want to leave his friend alone with this man. Maybe it was because his eyes held nothing but hate for the girl. Gaara knew that look well. He had seen it in the mirror several times in his life. Those eyes looking back at him with absolute hatred for what they saw. This man hated Kaoru. He could be a threat to her if they weren't careful.

A few more days past and Kaoru and Sakura had just finished the antidote for the Mizukage. The girls sat back with identical tired sighs. Kaoru looked over at Sakura with a smile, "We're done. After tomorrow we'll be able to go home."

The pink haired kunoichi let out another sigh but this one was from relief, "I know. I can't wait. The tension around here makes me edgy."

Kaoru nodded in agreement, "Uncle Ken said that he would walk with us to the Mizukage's home so we better hurry. He's waiting outside and I don't want to keep him waiting."

Sakura nodded in agreement. Kaoru turned to the medicine they had made for Hayate-sama and poured it into a bottle. She had just finished capping it when she heard Sakura gasp. She put the bottle in her pocket and turned to see what was wrong. A gasp escaped her when she saw what had happened. Sakura was on the ground unconscious and there was the shadow of a man standing behind her...a very familiar shadow. Images from her nightmares began to run through Kaoru's head. Then he smiled the same smile that he had all those years ago.

"Hello, little Kaoru. I've waited 11 years to see you again," he said as he walked forward. Kaoru tried to scream but nothing would come out. Tremors racked her body as she just stared at the figure that walked towards her with that evil grin on his face. He just kept walking forward and talking in that insanely calm voice, "You should have been my child but your mother chose him. They disgraced their families and yet were happy. He betrayed me but didn't feel guilt. We'll I bet they regret their decision now don't they, little Kaoru?"

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Makoto (A/N: just to remind you this is Kaoru's grandfather), Gaara, and Sasuke were eating breakfast. The room was silent since the more cheerful members of their group were all busy elsewhere. Gaara looked over at Sasuke. It had just hit him that the Uchiha was here but Sakura wasn't.

"Were's Sakura?" he asked.

"She's with Kaoru and Ken. They said that they would be able to finish the medicine for Hayate-sama today and wanted to get an early start," Sasuke answered calmly.

Gaara was about to ask how Sakura had convinced Sasuke not to come with her when he heard a crash at the other end of the table. Makoto had stood up and was taking his plate to the sink but had dropped it. The old man was now looking at Sasuke with serious golden eyes. Gaara felt mild concern for the man because he looked as pale as a ghost. Makoto's voice held an edge of worry when he spoke, "Who did you say Kaoru was with?"

Sasuke tilted his head in confusion but answered anyway, "Sakura and your son, Ken. Why?"

The old man didn't answer. Instead he rushed out the door and towards the hospital where the girls had been working on the antidote for the Mizukage's illness. Gaara and Sasuke followed. The rest of the group saw them rushing down the streets and ran after them. Gaara moved up along side Makoto.

"Do you mind telling us what's going on?" he demanded.

"Those girls are in terrible danger. I just hope we're not too late," the old man stated.

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There it is. I won't be able to update until some time after tuesday. I'll apologize ahead of time. I'm sorry. Please don't hold it against me and send me a good review. 


	21. The Nightmare Ends

Here it is. This chapter is finally finished. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my made up characters

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**Ch. 20: The Nightmare Ends**

Kaoru stared at that grinning shadow with absolute fear. Her mind was shouting at her to do anything but her body refused to listen to the demands. He continued to walk forward with that menacing smile. Kaoru knew he was going to kill her. She knew it like she knew the sky was blue and the grass was green. Still her body refused to move. Then her crimson eyes focused on his golden gaze. His eyes were filled with hate and rage. She felt her body begin to tremble.

Crimson eyes looked over when her friend moaned. Sakura was hurt. She needed help. Kaoru's eyes focused back on the man in front of her. She couldn't see his face. Only the shadow he was in her dreams but she knew who he was...Ken. Kaoru couldn't let him kill her. Not while Sakura was lying there defenseless. Once he killed Kaoru what was to stop him from killing Sakura too. The Suna medic couldn't let him. So she forced herself to move. He pulled out a kunai and she just barely managed to dodge. It grazed her shoulder and she felt the white hot pain shoot through her followed by the feel of liquid running down her arm. She was next to Sakura and lifting her up. Kaoru dodged another kunai then ran out the door.

"You can't run forever, Kaoru. I will find you and when I do you'll get to see your parents again. Won't that be nice?" he called from behind her.

Kaoru tuned him out. If she didn't she would lose what little courage she had left. She ducked into a room when she was sure she had lost him. Once she had the door locked, she made sure Sakura was alright. Her friend had a nasty bruise from where he had hit her but nothing fatal. She would be fine in a few hours. The thing was they wouldn't have that long. Today everything in Kirigakure was closed until noon for some kind of half rest day thing they did. The hospital would be opened in three more hours. He wouldn't let them hide that long. He would find them and kill them. Kaoru thought frantically about what to do. She couldn't leave Sakura here alone so she couldn't go get help. She couldn't fight him because she turned into a statue every time she saw him. That didn't leave many options open.

She stood up with a determined look in her crimson eyes. She couldn't let him get to Sakura. The only thing she could do was lead him away from the unconscious kunoichi. Kaoru peeked out of the room. When she didn't see anything she walked out and shut it behind her. The hospital never seemed so creepy before. Of course, being forced to run for her life could possibly have a negative affect on her view point. It didn't help that the lights were off and she was afraid to be in the dark. All the halls were empty and her footsteps echoed as she ran. She found the stairs and climbed up until she reached the roof. Maybe someone would see her and come to check on them.

When the door to the roof was open she froze again. He was standing there facing her. That terrifying grin spread on his face, "It's about time, Kaoru. I've been waiting for you."

"Why? Why are you doing this?" she asked shakily. If she kept him busy then maybe she could come out of this alive.

"I was furious when your father told me that he had fallen in love with your mother. He told me first because he wanted to make sure I would be okay with it. I told him I was but it was a lie. He should have known that. Your mother was a beautiful woman in both body and mind. She was kind, strong, graceful, in other words perfect. I wanted her for myself but she went and fell in love with Kohaku, my twin brother. I figured that in the face of her clan's disapproval she would give in to their desires and I would of course give in to my clan. But she didn't. For the first time she actually cared more about what she wanted than what her clan wanted. Kohaku had always been the rebellious one. Nine time out of ten he was in an argument with father because Kohaku had done something he wanted to do even though father had told him not to."

"What does that have to do with me? I'm not my parents and their dead. You killed them."

"I know. You're were actually my target that night. I wanted to make them miserable. But you hadn't been there. They had been sitting on the couch and were looking so happy that it made me sick. I couldn't leave knowing they were that happy. Not when they had both betrayed me."

"You told them it was okay. My father would have never betrayed you. You were his best friend. If you had told him how you felt he would have stepped back and you know it," she shouted at him.

"I shouldn't have had to tell him. He should have known. And now Kaoru, you die."

He through a kunai but she managed to dodge. He kept throwing them and she dodged all she could. There were a few that had managed to pierce her but none were life threatening. She had just dodged one when he pulled out several more with that smirk on his face. Kaoru wonder about that for a moment but he didn't give her time to for long. He threw all the kunai at once. she started to dodge but realized too late that she had no where to dodge too. She was standing on the corner of the roof. She could either fall to her death or get stabbed with a kunai. Pain shot through her and she gasped. Kaoru began to fall backwards.

She wondered why was she always falling? What an odd thing to think about when you were dying. She wished she could have seen Gaara-kun again. That would have been nice. She began to wonder if she was hallucinating because she could have sworn she heard him calling her name now. Maybe dying made you crazy too. No, she couldn't think like that. She couldn't die. Gaara still needed her. Her last thoughts before her world went black was, 'I know you'll come Gaara-kun.'

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They had found Sakura in one of the rooms. Sasuke was furious that someone had dared hurt her but he had stayed behind to make sure she would be alright instead of going with the other two to fight. Makoto had explained everything while they were running to the hospital. Gaara felt fear in the pit of his stomach. Makoto and Gaara had run up to the roof and saw Kaoru falling with a kunai embedded in her stomach. Rage consumed the Kazekage. Ken hadn't noticed them yet. He was currently walking towards Kaoru who was now lying on the ground. He had started to reach down when Gaara's cold voice stopped him.

"Don't touch her."

Ken froze and slowly turned around. He looked into Gaara's eyes and saw his own death. The Kazekage was going to kill him. There was no doubt about it. Kaoru's uncle smirked then reached out and kicked her off the roof. Now at least she would die with him. The air was suddenly filled with sand and it wrapped around Ken as Gaara used his Sabaku Kyuu. The last words Ken heard were, "Sabaku Sousou."

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The next morning, Gaara was sitting next to the bed. He was still furious. He should have been there. There wasn't any excuse for not being there to help Kaoru when she needed him. He had known that Ken had hated Kaoru but he didn't listen to his instincts. Instead he had over slept and his best friend had left the compound with a man that wanted to kill her. If he should have been there to protect her then none of this would have happened.

Sasori walked into the room and shook his head. Sasuke was in pretty much the same shape. He hadn't left Sakura's bed side since they had returned from the hospital. Both men were blaming themselves for what had happened simply because they hadn't been there. Sasori found it all kind of ironic considering the two were rivals most of the time. His tone was bored when he said, "Are you done sulking yet?"

Gaara gave him a look that would make normal men run screaming for their mothers. Fortunately for Sasori he could handle a death glare from the Kazekage without more than a chill running up his spine. That look was really rather scary if you didn't know that he wasn't going to kill you. Ken was actually the first man Gaara had killed in cold blood in several years. Gaara could have allowed the man to be caught and arrested but Ken had crossed the line. He had harmed Kaoru. That was the only thing that would make both Gaara and Shukaku work together and the power that they had as a result was incredible. The Kazekage had radiated so much power that even Sasori had made a mental note not to piss him off that badly.

"I'm not sulking."

"So you say," the puppet master replied in a tone that told Gaara that he wasn't buying it. Sasori walked out of the room to tell everyone else that Gaara was still sulking and that Sasuke wasn't in any better shape.

Gaara looked back towards the bed Kaoru was laying on. His friend was pale from blood loss. The kunai had just barely missed anything vital but stomach wounds always bled a lot. They had barely managed to save her life. Sakura had come around and had rushed up to the roof with Sasuke. She had quickly closed the wound in her friends stomach, which had made the Konoha medic pass out again much to Sasuke's annoyance. Kaoru would live now but that didn't make Gaara feel any better. He still should have protected her. She shouldn't have been wounded in the first place. He stood and walked over to the window to stare out it.

Crimson eyes opened slowly. Her head hurt. Where was she? She wasn't sure. The last thing she remembered was falling and pain. There was a lot of pain. That's right Ken had been trying to kill her. Did that mean she was dead? No, she couldn't be. Her head and stomach hurt too much for her to be dead. She let her eyes wonder around the room until she saw a familiar red head standing by the window.

"Gaara-kun?"

He turned and was at her side in a flash. Worried sea foam eyes stared down at her, "Kaoru, are you alright?"

She gave a shaky smile, "I think so."

"Good. Don't you ever scare me like that again. Waking up in the hospital is suppose to be my bad habit, not yours." He closed his eyes and his voice was barely a whisper when he admitted, "I thought I lost you."

Kaoru blinked then smiled, "I'm sorry, Gaara-kun. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Not your fault. I should have been there. I should have protected you." The girl immediately tried to sit up but pain immediately let her know that doing so was a very bad idea. Gaara placed his hand on her shoulder and pushed her back onto the bed, "You shouldn't try to sit up yet. A kunai did stab you in the stomach."

She frowned and continued to sit up anyway. He wasn't happy but realized that she was going to be stubborn about this so, instead of fighting her, he helped her. Once she was sitting up again, she took his face in her hands and looked him in the eye. She ordered him, "You listen to me Sabaku no Gaara. Are you listening?"

Gaara nodded.

"In no way are you are not to blame for what happened. You saved me so don't you dare blame yourself for this. Do you understand me?"

He nodded again with a smirk, "I understand, Kaoru. Now will you lay back down before you hurt yourself?"

She looked at him for a moment. He still held some guilt in his eyes but it had diminished. She could deal with the rest later so she allowed him to help her lay back on the bed. The girl gave him a small smile, "I knew you would save me in time."

A thousand of emotions danced through him. Kaoru could identify some of them but there were gaps in the waves coming off of him that told her some of them were directed towards her. She just offered him a smile. Then she thought of something and frowned, "What happened to Ken?"

He glowered, "There's no need to worry about him anymore."

She looked at him for a moment then nodded in understanding. Some part of her relaxed at the knowledge that the shadow could no longer get her. She was safe again. But she was still afraid of being left in the dark. Kaoru suddenly felt very tired again, "Gaara-kun...will you stay?"

Gaara sat down on the bed beside her, "Go to sleep, Kaoru."

She smiled at the familiar phrase. It had always been his way of telling her he would stay with her and guard against the nightmares. The medic fell into a sound sleep holding on to Gaara's hand as usual. He barely heard her whispered words before she fell into sleep.

"I love you, Gaara-kun."

He looked at her in shock. Sure he had known but knowing it and hearing it were two different things. This was the first time anyone had ever said those words to him. Part of him was afraid to believe it. He looked at the girl who had turned his world upside down and wondered what these emotions were. Her heard a scoff in his head and frowned. Apparently his other half knew something he didn't.

_'Of course I do, boy. I know a lot of things you don't,'_ Shukaku stated arrogantly.

'Oh, and what would you know this time?' Gaara questioned. He hoped that the demon would actually give him the answer to his questions like he normally did. Shukaku liked to brag when he knew something Gaara didn't and took great delight in pointing it out to him.

Shukaku drew in a deep breath like he was about to tell him then said, _'I'm not going to tell you.'_

'What?! Why not?' Gaara demanded.

_'Because that would be too easy. This time you have to figure it out all by yourself. I know it'll be difficult considering that I've spoon fed you everything for a while now but you should get it in another year or two,'_ the demon replied.

Gaara mentally scowled, 'You just like to play games with me don't you.'

_'On the contrary. Though I'll admit that the rest of the world is a game to me, that is the last thing I see this as. I actually like this girl and she will never be a game.'_

'Why does she matter?'

_'Your feelings are my feelings. Whether we like it or not we are connected. You'll have to figure out the rest for yourself.'_

Gaara stared out the window trying to sort through the emotions the girl brought out in him. He was starting to wish he had more experience with such things. Then maybe this wouldn't confuse him so much. Shukaku just thought it was odd that Gaara could recognize love in someone else but not in himself. The boy could see that Sasuke was in love with Sakura. He could see that Temari had developed feelings for the puppet master. But the boy just couldn't see what he felt for the medical nin that had wiggled her way into his heart without even trying. The demon shook his head with a dark chuckle. It would be amusing to see how the boy figured it out.

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Kaoru woke up the next morning in pain. Her stomach still hurt. Oh well, what could you expect when you've been stabbed with a kunai and kicked off the roof. She looked beside her and smiled. Gaara was still asleep. It was rare for him to still be asleep when she woke up. He normally woke up long before the sun was even up. He must really be exhausted. As she watched sea foam eyes opened and Gaara was instantly alert. She wondered how he did that. It took her several minutes to wake up fully. When he looked at her she smiled.

"Good morning, Gaara-kun."

He nodded and got up. She tilted her head. Well, at least he was grumpy like a normal person was. Then again he was always grumpy so that didn't really mean anything. A happy Gaara was an weird thing. Actually she should say, a obviously happy Gaara was a weird thing. He was happy. He just hid it from everyone so they think he's grumpy. She smiled as he walked back into the room carrying a tray of food. Sakura was right behind him.

"How are you feeling, Kaoru?" Sakura asked in concern.

"I'm feeling better than yesterday but it still hurts to move my stomach."

Sakura checked her injuries then smiled, "It's healing nicely so you should be fine. Just be careful. You don't want to open it back up."

"Don't worry. I get the impression Gaara-kun isn't going to let me do anything that would risk that for a while," Kaoru said with a smile. Gaara, who had been standing by the window, looked at his friend through the corner of his eye with a smirk. She turned to him and smiled.

"Good. I've given Hayate-sama his medicine so you don't have to worry about that. He says he's going to stop by later today to check on you."

"Thanks, Sakura." Then Kaoru remembered that Sakura had been hurt too. "How are you?"

"I'm fine now. Sasuke is hovering though. It's kind of annoying," Sakura said with a frown.

"I get the feeling both of our friends are blaming themselves for not being there to protect us."

Sakura scoffed, "That's stupid. It's not their fault."

"I know but we'll have to indulge in their slight over protectiveness for the next few weeks."

Sakura let out a sigh, "I suppose you're right."

Gaara frowned. He wasn't sure if he should be insulted or not. The two girls were talking like they hadn't almost been killed. Didn't realize what could have happened to them? He hoped so. They were both reasonably intelligent so they shouldn't need it spelled out for them. At lease, he certainly hoped not. He didn't think he could tell them. Just thinking about what could have happened if he had been just a few seconds late made his blood run cold.

Kaoru looked at him with a smile, "Don't worry about it, Gaara-kun. We're fine. You weren't too late."

Gaara just shook his head and said, "We're leaving as soon as you recover. I want to get you out of here."

Relief flooded through Kaoru, "I can't wait."

Later that night Makoto walked in. He was carrying a plate full of food. Kaoru stared at it hungrily. She hadn't been able to eat in a while because of her stomach injury. Eating had been uncomfortable. When the food was placed in front of her she looked up into her grandfather's eyes curiously. Makoto hadn't once shown any signs of caring about her the entire time she had been here. This was an odd change.

"Did you want something, Makoto-san?" she questioned quietly. Makoto still made her nervous. His cold attitude wasn't something she could easily handle. Dealing with Gaara's ice emotions was different. She had known that Gaara cared about her. Makoto on the other had had gone out of his way to show that he didn't care at all.

He sat down in the chair next to the bed, "Yes. I wish to apologize."

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That's it for now. I hope you guys liked it. Let me know what you think will ya. 


	22. Insert Title Here

It's finished. Finally. YAY! I couldn't come up with a name for this chapter not that it matters. Ok i'm done now. You can start reading if you want.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I only wish I did.

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**Ch. 21: Insert Title Here  
**

Kaoru blinked, "Apologize? What for?"

Her grandfather chuckled though it wasn't in humor, "Have you forgotten the way I've treated you already, Kaoru?"

She blinked, "I'm not sure I understand. Are you apologizing because you ignored me?"

"Yes. You are not to blame for the actions of your parents and I should never have blamed you. I had realized that just few weeks ago when you came to stay with us while you treated the Mizukage. However I couldn't let go of my pride long enough to fix the damage that had been done. I hope that you can forgive me."

Kaoru smiled, "Of course. I can understand how you felt and never blamed you to begin with."

He shook his head, "Gaara-sama is right. You really are too kind for your own good."

Kaoru looked at him innocently, "I am?"

Makoto chuckled, "Yes but don't change it. It what makes everyone love you."

She smiled and nodded in agreement. He stood up and left her so she could rest. Kaoru felt so happy. Her grandfather had forgiven her for her parents' choice. She knew her parents' had done what they wanted and that it had been the right choice. That hadn't stopped Kaoru from wishing that her father's family were a part of her family too. It was a dream come true to finally have both sides of her family supporting her. She glanced at the door when she heard it open and smiled.

"Gaara-kun, guess what," she said excitedly.

The Kazekage couldn't help but smile a little at her happiness, "What?"

"You're suppose to guess," she said with a slight pout. His eyes held humor as he tilted his head at her. She was too impatient to argue with him about it. "My grandfather had welcomed me back into the family. Isn't that great?!"

He sat next to her on the bed, "Yes it is."

"I'm so happy."

Gaara felt something in him lighted with her smile. He wasn't sure what this feeling was but he was beginning to get an idea. This could be what other's called love. It seemed right. All the things he'd heard about it applied to his feelings for this girl. She meant more to him than his own life. He knew he would do anything to make her smile. Heaven help anyone that took that smile away because he would make them pay. Her crimson eyes looked into his sea foam eyes. She was still smiling at him. It was a wonder to him that someone could smile at him like that. Never in his life had someone been so willing to befriend him. Maybe he was in love. He still wasn't sure though. How did you know when you were?

She tilted her head, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He blinked, "Like what?"

"If I knew that I wouldn't be asking. Are you alright?" she asked in concern as she placed a hand on his forehead to check for a fever. Gaara suppressed the urge to rub the spot she had touched. It tingled and was unusually warm now.

"I'm fine. Just thinking." He quickly changed the subject. Gaara was still uncomfortable talking about his feelings even with Kaoru. "You should get some sleep."

When he started to get up to go to his own room she reached out and grabbed his hand. He paused and looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. She gave him a sheepish smile. He let out an indulgent sigh and laid down next to her. Kaoru was still uncomfortable sleeping in Kirigakure. The place held too many bad memories for her. He would stay so she would sleep in peace. She snuggled against him and fell asleep a little while later. He watched her with a small smile. The Kazekage fell into a light sleep a few minutes later.

The group headed back to Suna a week later with the gratitude of the Mizukage and a promise of a visit from the Kawaguchi clan. To be honest the Suna shinobi were happy to be going home. They hoped to get some rest because they all needed a vacation from their vacation. The group was tired and in Kaoru's case still sore. They all stopped in Konoha and visited with their friends for a day or two then continued on their way.

When they finally made it home everyone just went straight home. Gaara was the only one that didn't get any sleep that night. Shukaku spent the time bothering him by hinting around something but never telling the boy what it was. By the end of the night Gaara wanted to strangle him. Unfortunately for the Kazekage, Shukaku lived in his head so strangling him was impossible. Shukaku continued to hint around feelings that his counterpart didn't understand with delight. One day the boy would figure it out. Until then he could have a little fun with his head. Gaara eventually started to ignore the demon.

Gaara was sitting at Kaoru's kitchen table. She was cooking dinner and telling him how things at the hospital were going. Kohaku was standing next to Gaara holding the bottom of his long coat. The little boy was looking at Kaoru as she spoke with a large grin. The Kazekage wondered just what the boy had won to make him smile so much. After dinner he was leaving. He was standing at the door telling Kaoru that he would see her tomorrow when the kid said something that put him in a state of shock.

"Bye bye dada," Kohaku said with a wave and a smile.

Both adults looked down at him. He didn't seem to realize that what he said was the most shocking statement that they had heard in a long time. What kid calls Sabaku no Gaara dada? It wasn't like Gaara had done anything to earn that title nor had he any intention of doing so with this kid. Kaoru looked up at Gaara's face and started to laugh. The kage narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms as he watched his laughing friend. She was laughing so hard that tears streamed down her face.

"The look on your face," she managed in between laughs.

"Tell him not to call me that, Kaoru," Gaara stated.

"I don't think it will work, Gaara-kun. He's thought of you as his dad for several years now. The only difference is he had a name for what he sees you as."

Gaara looked back at the kid and sighed. This was going to take some getting use to. He couldn't believe that this was happening to him. How did he go from being the most feared being in Suna to the kind of guy a kid would call dada? Another sigh. There was no changing it now. At least he knew that all that effort he put into changing how people saw him was working. Gaar looked at Kaoru.

"He'll probably stop eventually. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Gaara-kun."

Kohaku didn't stop calling Gaara dad the next day or even in the next month. However that was the least of the kage's worries. Everyone had to spend the next several days catching up on their duties. They each seemed to have a mountain of paperwork and tasks that they had to do. Personally, Temari thought that Kankuro was just lazy so he claimed that no one but one of them could do certain tasks, but that was just her. Kaoru not only had paperwork but she had to spend time with Kohaku and work shifts at the hospital. Gaara was buried in paperwork and the things that only the Kazekage had power to deal with. It seemed that everyone in the council needed his attention for something. So life fell back into a routine with only the kid making the one minor, or to Gaara's mind major, change.

----------_3 years later_----------

Kaoru walked into Gaara's office. He was reading some document that needed to be discussed in the next council meeting. She frowned when she saw his hand come up and rub at his temple. The medic walked over to her friend with a five year old Kohaku walking behind her. Kaoru placed a hand on her friend's forehead to make sure he wasn't sick. This effectively distracted him from his work and he looked up at her. Her crimson eyes held concern as she looked at him.

"Hello, Gaara-kun. I was coming to see if you wanted to come eat lunch with me and Kohaku," she said with a smile.

Now that she mentioned it he was hungry. The Kazekage nodded and stood up. Kohaku immediately grabbed hold of Gaara's coat with a smile. Gaara looked down at him. It was hard to believe that this was the same boy that Kaoru had adopted when she was 14. Five years had past and he wondered where they had gone. The boy was now in the academy and from the reports he receive he was one of the most promising students there. He had spiky dark hair and his deep blue eyes were smiling as he gazed up at the Kage. Gaara was one of the kid's favorite people much to everyone's, especially Gaara's, surprise. Kaoru smiled.

"Come eat with us, dad," the little boy demanded. Gaara'e eyes widened. He still wasn't use to being called that. Yet another thing that Gaara didn't understand. The boy had definitely been around Kaoru too long. Gaara looked back at Kaoru who just looked amused. He mentally sighed and stood up. Kohaku cheered and rushed towards the door.

"He loves you, Gaara-kun," Kaoru said.

"I know. I just don't understand why."

She smiled at him, "Oh that's easy. You're a very lovable guy."

He gave her a look that told her he wasn't buying that. She chuckled and the three of them left to go eat lunch. Gaara listened as Kohaku told the two adults what he was studying in his classes. The boy was picking up Kaoru's happy personality. It seemed the boy was always picking up habits from the girl that had raised him. It shouldn't surprise Gaara that the boy liked him so much when the girl he though of as his mother was the first person to ever smile at Gaara.

"Gaara-sama!" someone shouted across the building. Gaara looked over and saw Baki heading his way. His sensei had surprised everyone and was now married to Yuri of all people. What surprised Gaara more was the neither Kaoru or her grandmother had been surprised. They had both known it was coming.

"What is it, Baki?"

"We've just received word from Konoha. They've located Orochimaru. The Hokage asked for our assistance in either capturing or killing the Sannin."

Gaara nodded, "Send a message telling her we'll sent a team immediately. Did she have any requests?"

"The only specific shinobi she asked for were Temari and Kankuro."

Gaara nodded and stood up, "The team should be their tomorrow morning. I'm going personally and don't argue with me Baki. I have a score to settle with Orochimaru or did you forget he was the one that killed my father."

The group reached the Kazekage's office. Baki shook his head, "Of course I haven't forgotten. If you insist on going I just ask that you take Kaoru with you."

Kaoru looked surprised. Gaara frowned, "No."

Baki insisted, "But Gaara-sama you'll need her there. She's the best medic in our village and and Shukaku is easier for you to fight off when she's near you."

"No, Baki. She stays here," Gaara stated firmly.

The two men knew that Baki was right. If anything angered Gaara enough that Shukaku wanted to come out then Kaoru would make it easier for him to keep the demon suppressed. Gaara refused to put Kaoru in danger though. This fight would be one of the most difficult they've had in a while. There wasn't any guarantee that they would come back. Gaara didn't understand his feelings for her but he did understand the desire to protect her. He wouldn't let her come with him to this battle. Baki saw the determination in those sea foam eyes and knew he was fighting a losing battle. The only person who could change Gaara's mind now was Kaoru. He turned to leave.

"Baki, can you take Kohaku to my grandmother's? I'll pick him up later," Kaoru stated without looking away from Gaara. Baki nodded and took the boy out with him. She moved to stand in front of her friend, "Gaara-kun, let me come."

"No."

She frowned then said, "I'm going with or without your permission, Gaara-kun. If Baki thinks you'll need me then he's probably right. I'm not defenseless and I'll avoid the fighting but I will be there."

Gaara stood up and braced himself on the desk with both hands, "No you will not."

"Watch me."

"Kaoru, don't fight me on this. You will stay in Suna."

"Ugh, why are you being so stubborn about this?" she demanded.

Gaara felt something his temper snap, "Because I won't put you in danger!"

Kaoru blinked and her eyes softened, "Gaara-kun, I'm a shinobi. That's part of the job description."

The image of her falling off the roof and being covered in her own blood entered Gaara's mind. That had happened three years ago but it had terrified him. He didn't know what he would have done if Sakura hadn't been there. Kaoru would have died. He could have lost her.

"I don't care. I almost lost you once and I sure as hell don't plan on going through that again."

Kaoru moved around the desk and cupped his face in her hands, "Gaara-kun, listen to me. You've almost died a couple of times. Should I keep you from going on this mission because you might not come back? Of course not but it's a tempting idea. I promise I'll be careful. You'll just have to trust me to take care of myself."

He let out a sigh. She was right. He couldn't shield her from her job no matter how much he wanted to. Besides, it wasn't like she wouldn't be useful. Kaoru was very skilled as both a medic and kunoichi. As long as they kept an eye on her she would be just fine...wouldn't she. Damn it, he didn't want to risk it. He wanted her here in Suna where she would be safe from any harm. His sea foam eye locked with her crimson gaze. She looked just as determined to be by his side.

"Why are you being so stubborn?" he asked her.

"Because if anything happens I want to be there to help. I love you, Gaara-kun. I won't just stand by while there's a chance you need me."

Gaara just stared at her for a moment and then nodded, "Fine but you won't leave my sight and you will not fight."

She smiled, "I'll avoid fighting unless there's no other choice and I won't leave your sight."

They arrived at Konoha that night. Everyone was excited and afraid. They had finally found Orochimaru. He would finally pay for what killing the third hokage and the fourth kazekage. Plans were made. Those staying got prepared to defend the village if it became necessary. Those going left to pack what was needed. They would leave in the morning. Hopefully they would all be back the following night as well. True to his word Gaara didn't let Kaoru out of his sight the moment they left Suna. There was to telling what Orochimaru had planed and the kage had no intention of letting her get hurt because he dropped his guard. Sasuke had the same protectiveness going for Sakura. The girls found it kind of cute though they would never tell their protectors that. Tomorrow was the big battle with the snake. Everyone prayed to live through it.

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review. 


	23. A Fight and Realizations

I was originally going to devote this chapter to a fight at the sound village but I couldn't get the fight scene that long so I just tied up a few lose ends. The next chapter will revolve around the discovery Gaara makes at the end of this chapter and what he'll do about it.

Disclaimer: I no own Naruto

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**Ch. 22: A Fight and Realizations**

Now Kaoru had never actually met Orochimaru. She had heard all about him but whenever he was around she had been somewhere else. Gaara and his siblings saw him while he was in disguise but not his real face. So while they were sneaking into the sound village she wondered just what this enemy looked like. Sakura said that he was creepy beyond belief. Sasuke had nothing to say on the subject. Naruto just got pissed and stormed off. The blonde really didn't like Orochimaru. It didn't surprise Kaoru. Everyone who came in contact with the snake seemed to hate him unless they were just weird.

The plan was to capture or kill him plain and simple. Preferably kill him but that was just Gaara's and Sasuke's opinion. Sasuke, Naruto, Gaara, and Shikamaru were to go inside and attack the snake himself and anyone in the same room as he was. Everyone else was to take care of any underlings that tried to interrupt the fight. Kaoru and Sakura were to stay out of the fight so that they could use their medical skills at the end of it. The girls didn't like it because they wanted to help their loved ones but agreed with the plan. They would be the most help when everyone was injured and in need of medical treatment.

Everyone began getting into their positions. At the signal they attacked. While their comrades fought around them, Gaara, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Naruto ran to the area Neji told them Orochimaru was in. When they got there there was just Orochimaru and Kabuto in the room. The two of them stood to face their challengers with identical smirks.

"Is this all the two great nations could send to capture me? Four little boys?" the snake said.

Naruto, being his usual loud mouth self, shouted, "We'll be plenty to beat you freak!"

"We'll see about that," Kabuto stated as he took a fighting stance.

Naruto looked over at his teammates, "Me and Shikamaru will handle Kabuto as long as you guys got Orochimaru."

The others silent men nodded in agreement. It was the best way to go. With the nine-tailed fox's healing ability Naruto was the best one to fight Kabuto, the medic that inflicted pain more than he healed it. Shikamaru's habit of planing every move was a nice contrast to Naruto's rash personality. The two of them would make a good team. Besides that both Gaara and Sasuke had a score to settle with Orochimaru while Naruto wanted to settle one with Kabuto. The set up was perfect. So they all got into their fighting stances. Kabuto was the first to attack and Naruto was his target. Their fight began. For a moment Orochimaru and the other two shinobi just stared at each other. The at some invisible signal they all suddenly moved at once.

Inside the Sound Village was chaos. There was fighting and destruction everywhere. Naruto dodged an attack from Kabuto and glanced over at his team. Sasuke and Gaara were fighting against Orochimaru. The two didn't make a single comment as they fought while Orochimaru taunted them at every opportunity. The two were dodging every attack. Orochimaru just continued to smirk at them. He just knew that they couldn't win. No one could beat him.

"Oh, how you've fallen Sasuke. Still consorting with these weaklings when I could have made you something great."

Sasuke didn't even dignify that with an answer. He couldn't and wouldn't explain himself to this snake. Orochimaru would never understand the reason he had stayed in Konoha. Emerald eyes filled with unconditional love flashed through his mind. No Orochimaru could never understand. Over the last six years he had realized that he loved his life. He still wanted to avenge his clan but no longer at any price. He wouldn't sacrifice these bonds for anything. A face with a familiar goofy grin stating that they were friends even if they were rivals passed through his mind. Sasuke's onyx eyes held a determined look. He wouldn't make the same choices as his brother. He would become strong without having to give up everything that mattered.

Snake like eyes looked at Gaara, "You're not much better. You use to be so strong but now look at you. The Kazekage of the village you once hated. How pathetic."

Like Sasuke, Gaara chose not to respond. He agreed with the Uchiha that Orochimaru could never comprehend why they made the choices they have. Kaoru had shown him that hate wasn't the only thing that could give people power. The bonds he had developed over the years made him ten times stronger than he would have been if he continued to hate those around him. That wasn't something that his enemy could understand.

The two shinobi exchanged a single glance and then looked back at their enemy. Orochimaru was still unconcerned. There was no way they could beat him. He attacked using the sword he liked to pull from his mouth. Sasuke dodged and slashed with his own sword. The snake dodged it easily and aimed for Gaara. The Kazekage didn't even flinch. The sand came up blocking the attempt to kill the red head. Orochimaru frowned. They may not be able to beat him but they had very good defenses. He wanted to end the fight and soon. He had things he needed to do like take over Sasuke's body. Maybe he would take the Kazekage's beast while he was at it. Then he would be even stronger. Orochimaru attacked again.

Sakura and Kaoru were standing several miles outside the Sound Village. They were both feeling nervous because they had no idea what was going on. The medics just watched parts of the village explode and collapse and just prayed that their friends were all safe. A large explosion came from the area where Sasuke and the others were fighting. The two girls gasped and used all their will power not to go to check on them. They let out a relieved breath when they saw that it was just Kabuto getting knocked into the air by Naruto. The blonde jumped above Kabuto and kicked him back towards the ground. Then the girls couldn't see anything anymore except for the occasional explosions.

Two figures jumped up followed by a third. The girls gasped. They knew two of those figures very well. Gaara and Sasuke landed but the other figured performed some hand signs and then a large snake appeared. Kaoru and Sakura watched in fear as the snake and Orochimaru attacked together. They wanted to do something even if it was only scream but when they opened their mouths nothing came out. Relief flooded their systems when they saw that the boys had both survived the attack.

Gaara and Sasuke were now officially worried. The snake was huge and was helping Orochimaru. One wrong move and they would become snake chow and they greatly objected to getting eaten. All they could do was dodge the attacks and watch for an opening to get to Orochimaru on the top of the snakes head. Orochimaru's attention wavered for a moment as he noticed something and the boys used that moment to attack. The problem was his attention didn't waver long enough. He blocked their attacks and then threw a couple of kunai. The boys dodged this easily. When they looked back up at their enemy it was to see him smirking at them.

"Foolish boys. Did you think I was aiming for you that time?" Orochimaru taunted. "I aimed for your weak spots. Now you'll crumble and I'll win."

They looked behind them in horror. Orochimaru hadn't been aiming for them. Instead he had aimed for their weakness. Orochimaru had foolishly believed that doing so would make the boys weaken so that he could kill them. He couldn't have been more wrong. Anyone who knew the two of them would have told him that whas Orochimaru had done wouldn't make Gaara and Sasuke weak. It would actually have the opposite affect. The last thing Gaara remembered was seeing Kaoru's blood then something in him snapped. Sasuke experience a similar feeling when he saw Sakura bleeding. The two kunai had hit what was most important to them. Orochimaru would pay. The black chakra that signified the activation of the curse mark began to form around Sasuke. The sand that Gaara controlled was now going wild and his eyes were different. Instead of the sea green eyes that Kaoru loved they were the golden eyes of Shukaku.

"You better start praying to whatever god you worship Orochimaru," Sasuke said in a dangerously low tone.

Shukaku added, "Maybe it will keep you out of hell when we finish killing you."

The two angry beings attacked together. Everyone was both awed and terrified. Orochimaru had crossed some invisible line when he had attacked the girls and had unleashed something both wonderful and terrible. Gaara wanted Orochimaru to pay dearly for all the things he had done, but he wanted him to pay for that instant of pain he had caused Kaoru. Sasuke was beyond angry. He had never felt so angry in his life. How dare this freak attack what was his? Orochimaru would have to suffer for it. Yes, suffer slowly and painfully as possible. The two beings got identical sadistic grins on their faces and the look in their eyes was enough to send anyone, including Orochimaru, running for cover. The man held his ground though. He was still confident that the boys couldn't beat him. He should have run while he had the chance.

The first thing to do was get rid of the large snake protecting their enemy. So the boys aimed for him. The snake didn't want to go down easily. Since Orochimaru was a good fighter on his own he was of great help to the snake. However Gaara had Shukaku and Sasuke had the curse seal. Both of those weapons were now active. That meant that Orochimaru had lost. It didn't matter how hard or how long he fought he was going to lose. The boys' victory was assured the moment Orochimaru had pissed them off enough to lose control of their power. The snake left the fight the moment he realized this. He had no intention of fighting a losing battle. That left Orochimaru. The boys smiled.

Now don't get me wrong. Orochimaru was still a very skilled fighter so making him pay wasn't easy. He would dodge their attacks then send an attack of his own. Some of the snakes attacks even hit them a few times. However the boys were beyond pissed. There wasn't even a word strong enough to describe just how pissed they were. Nothing in the world would stop them from killing that man as slowly as possible. So several hours after the fight had began the boys started to win. More of their attacks were connecting and less of Orochimaru's were hitting them. Once that change took place it was only a matter of time before the boys had him cornered. Orochimaru had been knocked to the ground by Gaara. He couldn't get up. The two towered over their enemy deciding the best way to kill him.

Everyone else just watched in horror as two of the people they cared for were turning into monsters before their eyes. All sense of right or wrong seemed to have vanished from Sasuke's and Gaara's minds. It was the price for the power they carried inside them. No one dared to stop them for fear of that power being turned on them. Some looked away from the scene. They wanted to stop it. Sure Orochimaru should die for all the crimes he had committed but... They didn't think that Gaara and Sasuke should kill anyone in the state they were in. They knew that the two boys would regret it later.

Two people didn't just stand there and watch. The both rushed out and grabbed the boys around the waist with identical cries, "STOP IT!" Their reaction was instantaneous. The boys froze.

The dark chakra that had been surrounding Sasuke seem to vanish at the sound of a familiar voice. He turned as saw his pink haired kunoichi looking at him with pleading emerald eyes.

"Please Sasuke-kun, stop this. You'll regret it later," Sakura pleaded.

His eyes changed from the blood red Sharingan to onyx. Sasuke wrapped a single arm around her waist and nodded his head in agreement, "Alright, Sakura. I'll let Tsunade deal with him."

Sakura's grip tightened as she smiled in relief.

Meanwhile, golden eyes looked back into crimson eyes.

"He's lost already. Please don't do something Gaara-kun will regret later. Please, Shukaku," Kaoru begged him. She knew this wasn't Gaara. This was the beast that he feared would come out in his sleep. This was Shukaku. Gaara had once described the being as beyond good or evil. He told her that Shukaku wasn't either one. He just...was. Shukaku did whatever he wanted to regardless of right or wrong. Golden eyes looked into her eyes and for a moment she was afraid he wouldn't listen. That he would kill Orochimaru anyway. Then he closed his eyes and nodded. When those eyes opened again they were the familiar sea foam eyes of her best friend. She smiled brillantly and hugged him, "Gaara-kun, you're alright."

Gaara allowed her to hug him, not that he would have stopped her any other time. It was a relief to know that he wouldn't become a monster again. He hadn't felt that way in a long time. His anger had gotten the best of him and Shukaku had taken that window of opportunity to come out. The demon had also come out pissed. He had an attachment to the girl with kind blood colored eyes. Something about her that neither of them could put their finger on just soothed them both.

Tsunade stepped forward with Jiraiya, "We'll deal with him. You go get some medical treatment."

The four of them walked away from the battle field feeling very tired. Orochimaru would have gotten imprisoned and probably exacuted later but he did a very stupid thing at that moment. He threw the last two kunai he had and they were aimed for Gaara and Sasuke. The girls reacted instantly. They caught the kunai in mid air before they reached their targets. Tsunade's and Jiraiya's reaction was just as quick. They each performed a justu that cost Orochimaru his life. For a moment no one said a word as they stared at the man who had caused them so much trouble. Time stopped for an instant. They could scarcely believe that it was over. They had won. After all this time Orochimaru had finally paid for what he had done to them all. Then time started again as Sasuke and Gaara turned and started to walk away again. Sakura and Kaoru followed.

It turned out that the kunai Orochimaru had thrown didn't hit anything important. One had sliced Kaoru's upper arm and the other had grazed Sakura's side. The two of them were actually in better shape than the boys. Sakura and Kaoru left the boys to get treated while they went to make sure everyone else was alright. They didn't see each other again for several hours.

Sakura walked into the Uchiha compound shortly after sundown. She wanted to make sure that Sasuke was alright. The medic had told him not to do anything strenuous for a few days but Sasuke had never been very good at listening to instructions. She was right. He was standing in the training grounds practicing with his sword. She rushed forward with a glare.

"Sasuke Uchiha!! You better put that sword down before I show you just how hard I can punch someone," she ordered.

Sasuke stopped and turned. A smirk formed on his face when he saw his pink haired teammate glaring daggers into him. He didn't doubt that she would hit him if he continued to train. Considering how much pain he was in right now that would be bad. So he sheathed his sword and let her drag him into the house. Sakura cooked him some dinner when he admitted that he hadn't eaten. The whole time she grumbled about how he was no good at taking care of himself and it was a good thing she was there or he would starve to death.

Sasuke watched her and felt something inside him shift slightly. He couldn't say what changed but something had. It was odd to think that there was a time that he hadn't wanted her around. Now he the thought of being without her not only pissed him off but it...scared him. That also annoyed him. But sitting here in his kitchen watching her cook food for him something felt...right. It was like this was how things should be.

Sakura gasped in surprise when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. She looked back at Sasuke, "What are you doing, Sasuke-kun?"

He didn't know. Sasuke was just as surprised by his actions as she was. Then memories began to flash through his mind of his time with this pink haired girl. He turned her so that he could see her face more clearly. Sakura let out another gasp whens he saw the look in his dark eyes. He seemed to be shocked and in awe of something. She wondered what could put this look in his eyes.

"Sakura, tell me. Do you still...love me?" he asked slowly. His face and eyes were now blank of any kind of emotion.

She blinked. What would make him ask that? She tilted her head and answered him anyways, "Of course I do, Sasuke-kun."

He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. The feelings were beginning to overwhelm him and he didn't think he could contain it anymore. His voice was barely a whisper, "Sakura...I...I love you."

Sakura's eyes widened. She wasn't sure she believed her ears. Did he just say that? He couldn't have. This was Sasuke Uchiha. This was the same boy who would die before admitting how he felt about anything. Her voice was full of shock and disbelief, "Sasuke-kun..."

His onyx eyes snapped open and looked into her eyes. For the first time he allowed her to see what no one else saw...his emotions. She gasped. It was there as he looked at her. He really did love her. She smiled and tears fell from her eyes. Sasuke was confused.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because I'm happy, Sasuke-kun. I'm so happy."

He smirked and gave in to the demands of his body and emotions. He kissed her. At first it was gentle and testing but that didn't last long. Sasuke knew where this would lead if they didn't stop to he started to step back but she wouldn't let him. His forehead rested against hers again as they gasped for air.

"Sakura, you should go home. If you don't..."

She didn't let him finish, "I know, Sasuke-kun. I'm not naïve. I know what will happen. I know that's what you want to happen and I want it too. I've loved you for as long as I can remember. Trust me. I won't regret this as long as you really love me."

He watched her for a moment then smirked, "Well, then. Who am I to argue?"

She yelped when he lifted her up bridal style and carried her to his room. Needless to say neither of them slept much.

A few weeks later, Kaoru was sitting on the bed in Gaara's room taking off his bandages. He was watching her with intense sea foam eyes and it made her nervous. Gaara was trying to figure something out. There pounding in his chest whenever she was near him. He wanted to protect her from anything that would cause her pain. When she smiled at him he was filled with a warm feeling that he couldn't identify but wanted to experience again and again. What was going on? What was this feeling? He wished he knew.

Kaoru sat back and smiled, "There now. I declare you officially healed but that doesn't mean you can do anything strenuous for a few more days. You might reopen the wounds and that would be bad."

Gaara nodded. The feelings were about to over flow. He didn't think he could fight them and he didn't really know if he wanted to. It would help if he knew what was going on but the more he tried to figure it out the more confused he became. At first he had thought she was just his best friend but then he noticed that other people didn't feel as strongly for their best friend as he did for Kaoru. After that he didn't know what to call her anymore. She was his friend but she was more than that. He understood that much. He wanted to protect her and if anyone caused her any kind of pain then they would suffer his wrath. When he was the reason she smiled it filled him with pride and pleasure to know that he had made her happy. She was also the first person to give him a chance. His first real friend. What was she to him now he couldn't say for sure but his emotions seem to be demanding something from him.

Don't get him wrong. Gaara knew he was physically attracted to Kaoru. He wasn't naïve. She was a beautiful girl. Her hair was so dark it would put the night sky to shame and felt like silk. Her crimson eyes were always kind and held a smile more often than not. And although he sometimes felt guilty for thinking this way about his best friend, he knew that Kaoru had a body that most women would kill for. Gaara understood physical attraction. If that was all he felt then he wouldn't be so confused. The problem he was having was he didn't just find her body attractive. He liked her personality too. He had been told that when you like something beyond the physical then it was something more...well in this case more than just lust. So now he was very confused. What did he feel for Kaoru Tsukino?

She gave him an indulgent smile, "You do know that you're allowed to speak, right? You don't have to just nod your head."

That's when Gaara asked her a question that to her seemed completely random. Then again she can't read minds so she didn't know that the kage had been thinking about this for quite some time now.

"What is love?"

Kaoru just st.ared at him for a moment. How was she suppose to answer that? It wasn't something she knew how to explain. She tilted her head to the side and considered. Well, maybe she could use her feelings to explain it. When had she first started loving Gaara? Probably when they were kids and she had seen him sitting all alone on that swing. That seemed so long ago and at the same time it was just yesterday. When had she realized she loved him? That was the major question. She didn't think there was a specific point. It was just a gradual understanding of her own emotions. It could have been when he promised to protect her from nightmares when they were heading to the chunin exams. Then again maybe it was when he woke up in the hospital after the fight with Naruto. She knew that she loved him when he had become Kazekage so it happened before that but when? She really didn't know.

Kaoru looked out the balcony window, "Love isn't easy to explain, Gaara-kun. It's different for everyone. It's full of contradictions too."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...it's simple yet complicated. It can heal any wounds to your heart but also cause the worst damage to that same spot. I think in the end...people make it what it is for them. Take Sasuke and Sakura for example. For Sakura it's simple. She loves Sasuke. End of story. Nothing can change that. For Sasuke it's not so simple. He loves her but can't express that emotion like others do. He can't tell her. Instead his actions speak for him and even those can be confusing. See what I mean?"

He gave a slight nod as he considered what she had said. Kaoru smiled, "Good. I better get going. Kohaku needs to be put to bed so he won't fall asleep in class tomorrow. Good night, Gaara-kun."

"'Night."

She waved cheerfully and headed out the door.

Gaara moved to the balcony so he could watch her. His sea foam eyes still focused on her as she disappeared from sight. He had heard Kankuro talking to Temari about his actions towards his childhood friend. His siblings believed that he loved the girl sitting next to him. Kaoru was special to him but did that mean he loved her? His eyes stayed focused on her as the answer came to him. He knew what was going on with his emotions now. Gaara now knew what he felt. He was in love with his best friend. Now what was he suppose to do with this knowledge?

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That's it for now. Let me know what you think.


	24. Avoiding Emotions

I've finished this one. This is mostly how Gaara deals with his newly found emotions. Well they're not new he's just now noticing them though. Anyways on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. But if anyone needs a birthday present idea my favorite characters are Shikamaru and Gaara

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**Ch. 23: Avoiding Emotions**

Gaara didn't know what to do now. He understood that what he felt for Kaoru was indeed love but what he didn't get was what did he do now? The next morning Kaoru walked into the meeting room for the council of Suna. They would discuss anything that needed to be brought to the Kazekage's attention and he would make decisions or hear suggestion and make the decision later. Gaara was sitting at the front table. When he saw her walk in all he could do was stare. Did knowing how you felt about someone make them somehow more beautiful or did you just notice it more with the knowledge?

The medic smiled at him and walked over, "Good morning, Gaara-kun."

For once he was glad he never spoke much. Gaara had a sinking suspicion that he would have stuttered if he did. Or maybe he would blush. God he hoped he wouldn't do either. Thinking this he nodded his head. That wasn't odd at all because that's what he always did when acknowledging someone. Kaoru however seemed to have sixth sense for his thoughts and emotions. She tilted her head and placed her hand on his forehead. Her voice held the same concern that was in her eyes, "Are you alright? You seem...nervous."

"Fine," he stated.

She was about to say something else when the rest of the council walked into the room. Kaoru let out a sigh and took her seat. She could talk to Gaara later. For now she had to listen to the rest of the council.

The council meeting ended for the day around lunch time. Kaoru started to go to Gaara since they always ate lunch together. But by the time she had finished gathering her papers and looked up again Gaara was gone. She went to his office figuring he had just gone to put his papers away but he wasn't in there either. For a brief moment she was worried but then shrugged. He was Kazekage after all. That meant he was a very busy man. So for the first time since she was twelve years old Kaoru went to lunch without her best friend.

Gaara watched her walk out of the building. He felt bad for avoiding her but he felt uncomfortable around her now. The young kage figured that if he avoided her then there wouldn't be any problems and he would have time to sort out his own emotions. He couldn't have been more wrong. If Gaara had realized what trouble it would have caused then maybe he would have done things differently. The only excuse I can give for his ignorance is that he didn't have much experience with emotions so he didn't know how Kaoru would react when he started avoiding her.

A week later Kaoru was cooking dinner for herself and Kohaku. The young boy was the top student in his class and always had a smile for her. Every day she thanked god for putting him in her life. He was currently sitting at the kitchen table studying for his next test. It was their tradition. He would sit at the table while she cooked and they would talk or he would study. With her busy schedule it was the best time for the two of them to spend time together. Speaking of traditions Gaara hadn't eaten lunch with her that day again. Now that she thought about it she hadn't seen much out of Gaara during the last week. It was almost like he was... No. Gaara wouldn't avoid her. Would he?

Kohaku had glanced up then frowned at the look in her eyes, "Momma, are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine," she replied with a smile.

He wasn't sure he was convinced. Kohaku knew his mother tended to downplay her own problems so no one would have to worry about her. The thing was he wanted someone to worry about her. The boy had hoped that someone would love his mother and make her happy. If he was honest he had hoped that Gaara-sama would have realized what a special person Kaoru was. Not many people would have taken in a boy when his own clan wouldn't or befriend the man everyone thought was a monster. The boy shrugged. It was bound to happen soon. Everyone said so. So Kohaku made a mental note to keep an eye on his mother to make sure she really was alright and went back to his homework.

Something was wrong. That was all Kaoru couldn't think as she knocked on Gaara's office door the next day. She knew he was in there so why wasn't he answering. Instead of walking away like she normally did she opened the door and walked in. He was reading a report. Maybe that was it. He could have been engrossed in the report and didn't hear her knock. She walked over and tapped his shoulder hesitantly. He glanced up with a slight frown. When he saw it was Kaoru the frown vanished and he nodded in greeting. She smiled in relief. He wasn't avoiding her. Gaara wasn't mad at her. He really had been just busy.

"Do you have time for lunch, Gaara-kun?"

Gaara glanced down at the reports on his desk. He was almost caught up on his paperwork. The Kazekage was about to stand and let her lead the way like he always did but when he looked up at her his heart started to pound and he couldn't take his eyes off her. He had a suspicion that part of what he was feeling was Shukaku's doing. The tailed beast really wanted Kaoru to be theirs and was doing everything in its power to make it so. Gaara wasn't being cooperative. He didn't know what to do with these emotions and they were threatening to boil over even when Shukaku wasn't doing anything.

Gaara gave Kaoru a weak smile, "Sorry. Paperwork."

Those two words explained everything for the medic. He still had to catch up on the paperwork that had piled up during his time away from Suna fighting Orochimaru and the few days of recovery he had to take on Kaoru's orders. She nodded still smiling though it had dimmed a little. Gaara chose to ignore the sad look in her eyes. If he paid attention to it then he would have caved in. He couldn't do that. At least not until her knew what to do about what he was feeling.

"Alright. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

Kaoru turned and left. She met up with Sasori, Temari, and Kankuro at the restaurant they usually ate lunch in. Kaoru wasn't happy but she pretended to be for her friends. Those same friends wondered why Gaara wasn't there but didn't say anything. There was a sad look deep in Kaoru's crimson eyes and they didn't want to push her. It was too bad the not everyone felt the same way.

Aimi was one of what Temari and Kankuro called Gaara's fangirls. She had long strawberry blonde hair and silver eyes. Her body was the kind that made most men begin to drool the moment they saw her. Gaara so far was one of the few men in Suna that hadn't dated her and one of the only two (Sasori being the other one) that didn't seem to want to. She was also a very strong shinobi and had been on many missions with Gaara before he became the Kazekage. Aimi swaggered up to Kaoru's table and smirked, "So where's Gaara-sama, Kaoru?"

Kaoru glanced up with a smile, "He's in his office. The paperwork piled up while he was away so he needed to catch up."

"Is that what he's been doing all week?"

The medic looked back at her food, "I guess so."

"You don't know?! And here I thought you were always the first to know what Gaara-sama was up to," Aimi said with false shock in her voice.

Kaoru didn't respond but Temari did, "Aimi, if you want to live to see tomorrow you'll leave...now."

Aimi didn't go anywhere. Instead she said, "I'm just asking what everyone is wondering about. What happened, Kaoru? Did you do something to make Gaara-sama made at you? Is that why he's avoiding you? You know you're the only one that hasn't talked to him all week."

Kaoru suddenly stood up and walked out of the room. Her three friends were giving Aimi cold looks. Sasori's fingers twitched slightly and Aimi suddenly went flying across the room. Only Temari had seen the slight twitch and she looked at Sasori. He just shrugged, "Kaoru doesn't deserve to be treated that way."

The wind mistress smiled at him. She then looked at the door Kaoru had walked out of with worry. She got up and ran after her friend. Once she caught up to Kaoru she asked if the medic was alright. Kaoru had smiled and said she was. Aimi just annoyed her a little that was all. Temari wasn't sure she was convinced but let it go. Kaoru would talk to Gaara if something was bothering her and he would make everything alright. That's the way things had always been. Well, that's the way they've been since they first became genin.

After that day Kaoru started working herself hard. She would miss council meetings and always came home exhausted. Her nightmares were back with a vengeance so she wasn't sleeping well. Her friends worried about her but none more than Kohaku. They didn't see Kaoru come home stumbling from exhaustion. They hadn't come rushing to her room when she screamed in her sleep from dreams that were suppose to be long gone. He didn't know what was wrong with his mother though. She would keep telling everyone that she was fine. Until they knew the cause there really wasn't anything they could do.

Kaoru knew she was worrying her friends but she didn't know what else she could do. Her nightmares of Gaara leaving were back and the only way she could sleep was to be too tired to dream. Even that didn't always work. She hadn't had these dreams for a long time and had prayed she had seen the last of them. No such luck. They came now that Gaara was avoiding her. Yes, she admitted it now. She just didn't know why and he wouldn't talk to her long enough to tell her. So instead she let him have his way. She stayed away. There was always plenty of work to be done in the hospital so she had things to keep her busy. She worked from can until can't everyday. Then one day she realized something. She hadn't even seen Gaara in over a week. She hadn't even caught a glimpse of him. Her emotions caught up to her and she ran. When she stopped she was standing on the top of the cliff over looking Suna. After a moment she came to a decision. She would go visit her father's clan in Kirigakure. She would even bring Kohaku. He needed to meet the other half of his family anyway. Maybe when she came back things would be better. Kohaku and Kaoru left the next morning. She told everyone but Gaara good bye and when she would return.

Gaara had heard from Temari that Kaoru was gone. He had frowned at that. Why hadn't she told him? When he asked Temari his sister had glared at him. She then said, "Could it be because you were avoiding her like she had done something wrong? Damn it, Gaara, you were hurting her. She thinks your mad at her. Tell me. When was the last time you saw Kaoru?"

"About three weeks ago," he responded slowly.

"And why is that?" He looked away. Gaara had a sinking suspicion he knew where this conversation was going and he didn't like it. Temari wouldn't let him get away with it though. "Gaara, you're my brother and I love you but sometimes I want to beat you. Kaoru started avoiding you when she realized you didn't want to see her. You haven't seen her because she hasn't been coming to the meetings or walking around the village like she use to. Instead she works at the hospital and then goes home."

"Hey, Temari, we're going to be late," shouted Kankuro. Temari, Kankuro, and Sasori were teachers at the ninja academy and class started in a few minutes.

"Coming. Look, Gaara, I have to go. Kaoru will be back in two weeks. Why don't you talk to her when she gets back."

With that the three of them left Gaara alone with his thoughts. He did a lot of thinking.

--

Kaoru and Kohaku were back two weeks later. The little boy rushed over to his Uncles Sasori and Kankuro and his Aunt Temari to tell them all about his trip. Kaoru greeted everyone with a smile. She seemed better but no one was sure what to think. The group ate dinner together at Kaoru's house. Sasori and Temari went home. The two of them still lived together and everyone believed they were dating. Kaoru knew they were. Kankuro went to his own home after saying goodbye to Kaoru.

Kaoru tucked Kohaku in and then went into her own room. She sat on the edge of the bed and lifted the picture she kept next to her bed. It had her and Gaara in it. She was smiling at the camera and Gaara was smiling down at her. This picture had been taken earlier that year on her sixteenth birthday. Silent tears began to fall from her eyes. She missed her friend. He hadn't even come to greet her when she returned to the village. Kaoru placed the picture back in its spot but this time face down. She then grabbed the panda bear Gaara had gotten her for her birthday several years ago and hugged it as she cried herself to sleep.

At her door Kohaku felt his anger boil over. Now he knew what made his momma so sad and he had every intention of fixing it. So the next day instead of going to school he went to visit Gaara. He walked into the office that he knew Gaara was in and looked at the man standing by the desk. Gaara had glanced over when he heard his door open and now frowned at the boy.

"You should be in school, Kohaku."

"I don't care. Gaara-sama, I thought you liked momma."

Gaara flinched inwardly. It was the first time in that Kohaku had called him by his name. The boy normally called him 'dad'. Gaara never thought he would want to hear the boy call him that but for some reason he did. None of his inner thoughts showed on his face. All that showed was his usual emotionless mask. He drew in a breath and said, "I do."

"Then why are you making her sad?"

Gaara looked out the window, "What do you mean?"

"Momma is working all day and when she gets home she so tired she can't stand. She barely eats and her nightmares are back. Last night she cried herself to sleep," he explained. Then he added in as much a demanding tone as a five year old could have, "It's your fault. Fix it."

Gaara just stared at Kohaku for a moment. The boy was standing there glaring at him. The kazekage looked away from Kohaku, "I can't."

"You said that you liked momma. You said that you would protect her. You're not doing a very good job," Kohaku shouted then stormed out. He couldn't believe that Gaara wasn't going to do anything. His mother was hurting. When you hurt someone you're suppose to apologize or something, right? Then Gaara-sama should apologize to him mother. Then she wouldn't be sad anymore. If only five year old logic worked in the real world.

The next day Gaara looked up as someone else burst into his office. It was Kyo, Kaoru's cousin on her father's side, and he looked pissed. Gaara stood with a frown but never got to say anything. Kyo punched him hard enough to push Gaara to the floor. Gaara reacted quickly to the attack. His sand raced over and pinned Kyo to the wall. Gaara stood and wiped the blood away from his face.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

"If you don't know then you don't deserve to. You promised to protect my cousin. Who's protecting her heart from you? Do you know how miserable she is? She came to us two weeks ago and she wasn't the same. It was like something in her had died. Now either you fix it Gaara or I'll take Kaoru back to Kirigakure with me and if I have my way you'll never see her again."

Gaara felt rage build inside him at the thought of never seeing her again. His sand began to squeeze Kyo. Both Gaara and Shukaku were speaking when he said, "Just try and take Kaoru. You won't make it out of Suna alive."

"At least she'll be safe from you. At least then you won't be able to hurt her anymore."

Gaara's anger melted away into guilt and pain. Kyo fell to the ground coughing. He stood up, "You have until tonight to fix it Gaara. If she's still hurting tomorrow I'll take her back with me to Kirigakure."

With that Kyo left. Gaara just stood there for a moment. He looked out the window and saw that the sun was setting. He knew what he had to do.

--

Kaoru was walking home from the hospital. She was exhausted as usual so she didn't notice the person walking up behind her. When a hand touched her shoulder she jumped and let out a yelp. It was Gaara. She managed a small smile, "Hello, Gaara-sama. What are you doing out here?"

He frowned at the suffix she had used and said, "Kohaku came to see me today. He said you are exhausting yourself and that you're having nightmares."

"I'm fine."

"You've been missing the council meetings."

She looked away, "I'm sorry. I've been busy."

His sea foam eyes narrowed. She did look tired and stressed. It wasn't like Kaoru. Guilt swam through him at the sight of those usually happy crimson eyes looking so sad. She had leaned against the wall and he knew it was because she was too tired to stand. He knew Kohaku and Kyo were right. It was his fault. The problem was Gaara had no idea how to fix it. The Kazekage raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. He never slept so that usually didn't bother him but the stress of what to do with these feelings he had was bothering him.

She tilted her head, "Are you alright, Gaara-sama?"

He braced a hand on either side of her head and snapped, "Don't call me that, Kaoru." Then in a quieter tone, "Don't..."

Gaara didn't want her to call him that. He didn't want her to push him away. That would hurt worse that having a kunai stabbed through his heart. For Kaoru to hate him...Gaara couldn't even bare to think about it. Not only did he love her but she was his best friend...his only real friend. She was still the only person who could read him at all times. She was the only person who added the -kun to his name. She was the only one who could have melted his heart when he thought he didn't have one to melt. He couldn't lose her. He just couldn't.

Kaoru was confused but she was getting the feeling something wasn't right. reached up and touched his forehead. He didn't have a fever. Gaara looked so tired she realized. That made her frown. Gaara never looked tired because he didn't have to sleep. Kaoru's voice was barely a whisper, "Don't call you want?"

"Don't call me -sama. You never have to call me that and I don't like hearing it from you."

Kaoru really didn't get it but she wouldn't argue with him in the state he was in. Gaara was obviously tired and upset about something. She just didn't know what it was. Kaoru just smiled for him and said, "Alright, Gaara-kun."

He relaxed slightly and stepped back before he...did something. He wasn't quite sure what it was but his body was demanding something from him and he didn't want to act unless he knew what it was. It might not be an action she would appreciate. Kaoru may not anger easily but once she was she was just as scary as Sakura or Tsunade. Personally Gaara liked to avoid making his friend angry. He looked into her crimson eye. Then again he would rather have her angry then sad and tired. Kohaku was right. He should do something to fix it.

Kaoru watched relief flood his sea foam eyes. She tilted her head in confusion. And they say girls were moody. Whoever said that hadn't met Gaara. Then again he wasn't use to dealing with emotions. Even after eight years he still didn't handle them well. She was pulled away from her thoughts when Gaara suddenly picked her up. He carried her bridal style towards his home.

"Umm, Gaara-kun, where are we going?"

"To my home."

"Why?"

"So you'll sleep. You look exhausted."

She blinked then remembered that Kohaku had told Gaara about her nightmares. The medic had once told Gaara that he was the only person who could keep the nightmares away. She looked at him with confused eyes, "But I thought you were mad at me."

Gaara didn't respond until they were in his room. He set her down and walked over to the balcony and started at her reflection in the glass. The kage drew in a breath and said, "I could never be mad at you, Kaoru."

"Then why have you been avoiding me and don't tell me you weren't?"

He winced at the hurt and angry tone in her voice. Well, he deserved it. He should have known that avoiding her would cause her pain. She was a very sociable and kind person. People didn't avoid her unless they were angry with her. He turned to face her. What did he say? Should he tell her his reason for avoiding her or should he lie? He just stared into her eyes as his mind raced for an answer to his problem.

Kaoru walked forward and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. Her eyes were pleading with him as she said, "Please, Gaara-kun. Don't shut me out."

Frustration bubbled inside him, "I don't know how. I don't understand what's happening to me, Kaoru. All I really know is that you're at the center of it and I don't know what to do."

"Is it bad?" she ask.

"I don't know. I don't thinks so."

Kaoru wished he was more talkative. It was like pulling teeth to get him to talk about this. She said, "Well describe it to me."

He almost didn't. She would know then. Kaoru had magical empathy and she was very good with people. If anyone would be able to identify what he was feeling from just a description then it was Kaoru. Gaara found himself answering her anyway.

"It only happens when you're around. I'm...happy. I like to make you smile and if anyone takes that smile away I feel like killing them. Hell, I feel like killing them if they hurt you in anyway. I want to protect you. " He also found himself watching her eyes for her reaction. He saw the moment she began to figure it out. Her eyes had widened and disbelief was plain in them. He just continued to speak, "I get pissed if another guy flirts with you but I won't say anything because that would make you unhappy. And I'd rather die than be the cause of your pain..."

He stopped. That was the most talking he had done in years. It felt odd. Not to mention he had been talking about his emotions something he rarely even thought about let alone discussed with anyone. He waited for what she would say.

Kaoru swallowed and asked, "What are you trying to say, Gaara-kun?"

Gaara decided to just risk it. Kaoru would know what to do about these emotions and he already knew how she felt...right? It wasn't like she didn't love him...right? What did he have to lose other than the only person that had ever accepted him without reservations? He drew in a deep breath and let it out again. This was harder than he thought. That's when Shukaku said, _'Come on boy. I've been trying to tell you the whole time what you should do. Now listen to me. All you have to do is...' _Gaara blinked. He wasn't sure he should be listening to that advice but his heart and body screamed in agreement with the tailed beast and before he knew it he was doing exactly as Shukaku suggested.

Kaoru just continued to wait for his answer. She knew this was difficult for him. The best thing for her to do was wait for his response. Her mind suddenly shut down when she felt a pair of warm lips on hers. Everything in her focused on that alone. There was no room for any other thought. Her legs wouldn't support her weight any more and she would have fallen if an arm hadn't wrapped around her slim waist.

Gaara cupped her cheek and hesitantly deepened the kiss when she responded. He had never felt like this before. His body was on fire and he knew what that meant. As said before he wasn't naïve. The kiss had opened the doors to his emotions for his friend and now they were drowning him. He pulled back when the need for air became too strong to ignore and rested his forehead against hers. Both were gasping for air they suddenly wished they didn't need.

"I guess that means I was right," she said in between gasps. "You were saying that you loved me."

He didn't bother responding. Kaoru knew that she was right. His actions told others how he felt and what he had just done was a very telling action. His sea foam eyes snapped open and focused on her face. She felt his gaze and opened her own eyes. She saw it then. The emotions swirling inside those eyes that rarely showed anything at all. She also saw the fear in them. Whether he feared the emotions themselves or her reaction to them she couldn't say.

"Gaara-kun, is this why you've been avoiding me?"

"I didn't know what to do," he sounded apologetic. "I wasn't even sure what I was feeling. I guessed but that was it."

She watched him then smiled, "It's alright. I've already told you. I love you and have for as long as I can remember."

"Kaoru, I..." He stopped talking and just kissed her again. It was all he could do to keep control of himself. He wanted more and knew he shouldn't take it. If he did then neither he nor Shukaku would ever let her go. Gaara pulled away completely putting some space between them while he tried to regain control. Kaoru watched him wondering what was going on in his head and wishing she could feel emotions that were directed towards her. Gaara turned away, "You should probably go home. I... I'll see you at the meeting tomorrow."

Kaoru thought for a moment then gave a small smile. Contrary to popular belief she wasn't naïve either. Granted she was a bit slow on the uptake in this particular area but she understood it and what it meant. She also knew how to recognize it. The medic knew exactly what Gaara's problem was. He was trying to control emotions that demanded to be let loose. He wanted to protect her from even himself. If he let the emotions go he wouldn't be just Gaara. He would also be Shukaku. The two of them would be one at that moment because those emotions belonged to both of them.

Kaoru stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him resting the side of her head against his back. He stiffened then relaxed. She just stood there for a moment then said, "It's alright, Gaara-kun."

He stiffened again. He knew what she was talking about and was surprised she noticed what was going on in him. For a moment he thought about running but then turned to face her instead. She looked up at him with that sweet smile that never failed to make him give her a small answering smile. It was never much. Just a slight curve to his mouth that most people wouldn't call a smile but on him that's just what it was. He turned serious again and what little smile he had vanished.

"Are you sure about this, Kaoru? I won't let you go and neither will he. You'll be stuck with us."

"I was stuck with you the first time I saw you on that swing when we were five. I believe that's when I first started loving you too. At least it is if five year olds are capable of this kind of love."

Her crimson eyes were soft and freely showed her feelings just as they always had. He could see that she was very sure. Gaara did the only thing he could do. He kissed her again but this time, instead of the testing gentle kiss he had given her earlier, it was full of hunger and desire. Kaoru didn't fight him as he backed her towards the bed. In fact that was the last thing on her mind. For the first time in his memory Kaoru was in his bed but Gaara didn't sleep.

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Finally. It's about time they got together. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think.


	25. The Wedding

Sorry it's so late. I had a case of writers block. I'll try to get the next one up as soon as possible though it'll probably be late too. exams are coming up...yuck. Anyways I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: see other chapters

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**Ch. 24: The Wedding**

It was the next morning and Gaara groaned as he started to wake up. Needless to say he was not happy with being up at all. His sea foam eyes opened slowly then snapped open quickly when he noticed the weighted next to him. It hadn't been a dream. Kaoru was snuggled next to him. She had on a small smile as she slept and that made hims smile slightly. Gaara knew that the unfamiliar emotion welling up in him was happiness. It happened once in a while during the last few years. Here she was sitting next to him. He still couldn't believe it. How had this happened? What was someone so kind and beautiful doing with him, the monster of Suna? He didn't know the answer and he wasn't sure he would get it if she told him.

Her red eyes opened slowly. They looked up into his eyes and she smile. He bent down and kissed her without a moments hesitation. It felt right. Kaoru smile widened, "Good morning to you too, Gaara-kun."

He rested his forehead against hers and was about to kiss her again when there was a knock on his front door. With a low growl he got up. Kaoru tried not to laugh at him. He acted like a kid that was told he wasn't allowed to play anymore. She almost felt sorry for the poor soul who had knocked on the door. Kaoru got up and walked into the shower.

Gaara was down stairs and debating on whether or not he wanted to kill Kankuro or not. His big brother had dragged him away from his nice warm bed and the nice warm woman for this? Kankuro was telling him that Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno were getting married. They had invited the sand siblings and Kaoru. Gaara really wanted to strangle his brother at that moment. He could be doing...well, doing other more interesting things with Kaoru right now.

"And this couldn't wait a few more hours because..." Gaara drawled out slowly.

Kankuro hesitated. He knew his brother well enough to know he was annoyed with him. What he didn't know was why? It wasn't like Gaara slept unless Kaoru was with him and the kage had been avoiding the medic. There wasn't any reason for him to be annoyed now was there? He was about to ask when someone shouted at the two. The two of them looked over at Temari and Sasori as the two of them reached them.

"Gaara, she's missing," Temari stated.

"Who?" Gaara asked.

"Kaoru-san, she didn't com home last night," Sasori said in his calm voice.

'Oh, her,' Gaara thought. He wasn't aware of the small smirk on his face or the arrogant look in his sea foam eyes. No one said a single word for a moment. Then Temari demanded, "Well, aren't you worried?!"

Gaara shook his head, "I know where she is. There's nothing to worry about." Gaara heard something in his house that told him Kaoru was now out of the shower. He smirked again and said, "I have to go now."

With that he shut the door. Temari and Kankuro stared at it in complete shock. Sasori just shook his head and said, "It's about time."

Temari rounded on him, "What do you mean?"

"Kaoru inside."

The two sand siblings stared at him for a moment then smiled. Sasori was right. It was about damn time. Kankuro headed off towards his own house. Temari and Sasori walked toward the house that they still shared. Technically Sasori wasn't on probation anymore and he could have gotten his own place by now. For some reason he kept putting it off. Sasori knew why he didn't want to move. Unlike Gaara and Sasuke, he was fully aware of what he was feeling. He had fallen in love with Temari. She was strong, stubborn and smart. At first she came across as cold and distance but that hid her soft heart. She was very protective of her friends and heaven help anyone who threatened her family. No, Sasori wasn't foolish like Gaara and Sasuke had been. He knew why he stayed with Temari and why he would continue to stay for as long as she would let him. His red eyes focused on the blonde next to him. She caught his stare and smiled, then slowly reached out and took his hand.

Meanwhile, Kaoru had just finished making breakfast . Gaara told her what Kankuro had wanted. She smiled, "We can go, right, Gaara-kun?"

He nodded and wondered if it was supposed to be harder to tell her no. It probably was. The two of them ate while talking about little things. Gaara suddenly asked, "Kaoru, what happens now?"

She blinked then shrugged, "That's up to you, Gaara-kun. Things can go back to the way they were. They can continue as they are now. You could even take it farther. I won't make that choice for you."

"You have a say too, Kaoru. It's also your life," he pointed out.

"Yes but I already know what I want. I don't want to influence your choice. I'm not as oblivious as everyone thinks I am. I know that I have influence over you that no one else does even before last night." Kaoru paused to smile as her red eyes lit up with memory. "This isn't something I want to influence. When you make the choice it will be yours and yours alone."

Gaara considered for a moment then sighed, "This would be easier if I had done this before. Kaoru, I..." Gaara didn't know what to say now so he blundered through the best he could, "...I've never...I love you and I've never..."

Kaoru walked over to him and placed a finger over his lips to stop him from saying anything else. She had a small smile on her face and her crimson eyes held a great deal of amusement, "I know, Gaara-kun. It isn't suppose to be easy. If it was then everyone would be happier. Besides, nothing worth having is easy to get."

He let out another sigh, "I suppose."

She started to walk away but Gaara had other ideas. He reached out and grabbed Kaoru's hand and pulled her into a kiss. He didn't know where this would lead but he would see it through.

--

The council decided to take a break for lunch. Kaoru was standing in Gaara's office waiting on him to finish putting his papers away when the door opened. Kohaku rushed in with Kaede trailing behind him. The old woman smiled in amusement as the boy threw his arms around Kaoru's waist.

"I was worried when you didn't come home yesterday," he stated while clinging to his mother.

"I'm sorry, Kohaku. I was really tired after I left the hospital. Gaara-kun found me and took me to his place so I could rest."

Kohaku looked over at Gaara and smiled, "Thanks for taking care of her, dad."

Gaara shook his head at the name Kohaku used for him. He still wasn't use to it. The boy knew that it bothered the kage and that was part of the reason he still called him that. The other reason was he wanted it to be true. Kohaku wanted a family. He had a mother and grandparents. He even had Uncle Kyo. If that was all he had for the rest of his life he would be happy. That didn't change the fact that he wanted a father. He also wanted that father to be Gaara.

Kaoru looked over to Kaede, "Since you're here do you want to join us for lunch, grandma?"

"Yes, I think I will."

Kohaku watched the interaction between his mother and Gaara very carefully. He knew something had changed. He just didn't know what it was. No matter how much he watched he couldn't see what it was. Then there it was. For a brief moment Kaoru had taken Gaara's hand to pull him in one direction. For the first time in Kohaku's memory Gaara held Kaoru's hand while she pulled him.

The little boy looked up at Kaede, "Grandma, does this mean he really is my dad now?"

"Not yet, Kohaku, but soon," she replied with a knowing smile.

--

They arrived at Konoha the next week. The whole village was aflutter of activity. People rushed about doing their own task to prepare for the wedding between their cherry blossom and the Uchiha. Kankuro, Temari, and Sasori left to go find out where they were staying while they were here. Gaara, Kaoru, and Kohaku went in search of Sasuke and Sakura.

They found Sasuke first. He was in his compound staring moodily at the decorations. He nodded his head in greeting. Kaoru and Kohaku said hello but Gaara just nodded his head in return. Sasuke then continued to glare. He was obviously not very happy with something. In a few days, the Uchiha was about to get married to the woman he has loved since they were twelve and he was glaring. Something just didn't add up.

"Are you alright, Sasuke? You look kinda grumpy for someone who's about to get married," Kaoru asked.

"We should have just eloped," he replied in a growl.

Gaara smirked. Kaoru tilted her head, "Why do you say that?"

He looked over at them, "Do you see all the decorations? Did you know that the wedding itself will take hours? I just wanted to get married not make a damn holiday."

Kaoru smiled, "But it's a special day."

"Yes. For me and Sakura. Not the rest of the village."

"You have to let your friends come."

"I am. Naruto, Kakashi, and you guys. The rest of the people are Sakura's friends. Did you know that more than half of the village is her friend?"

Kaoru was now fully amused, "I'm sorry, Sasuke."

Gaara shrugged, "The good news is you'll only have to do this once."

Sasuke nodded, "I know. It's the only think keeping me sane through all of this."

Kohaku tugged on Kaoru's sleeve, "Whats a wedding?"

Since both of the men suddenly looked like the question would set off a bomb Kaoru answered. "It's when two people promise that they'll love each other and no one else for the rest of their lives."

Kohaku stood there in thought for a moment then smiled, "That's a good thing right?"

"As long as they really love each other then yes."

"Kaoru!! You're here!!"

They turned at the familiar voice. Sakura walked into the compound and the two girls hugged. Sakura kissed Gaara's cheek and hugged Kohaku. Sasuke began to grumble something about not getting a hello. Sakura smiled and kissed his cheek too. The group walked inside so that they could talk while the girls made some lunch for them.

--

The day of the wedding came and everyone was excited. The wedding itself would take place on the Uchiha compound. Everything was done in red and white since the Uchiha symbol was in those colors and Sakura loved them. People rushed about trying to finish the last minute preparations. Sasuke and Sakura were in their changing rooms with a few friends.

Sasuke was nervous. He'd be damned if he'd admit it out loud but he was. For once he wasn't annoyed by Naruto's constant chatter since it kept his mind off of what he was about to do. He was getting married. Never in his life had he ever thought that would happen. Sasuke Uchiha was a cold person who only cared about one thing...avenging his clan. At least that was how it was suppose to be. Then Sakura came along and blindsided him. Now here he was getting married of all things. How had that happened?

Gaara looked out the window and went deep into his own thoughts as an idea occurred to him. Maybe he knew what he wanted.

There was a knock on the door and Asuma was there. It was time for Sasuke to get out there. The Uchiha let out a sigh and walked out of the room. Gaara and Naruto followed him.

Sakura was just as nervous as Sasuke but she didn't bother to hide it. She paced and babbled away. She would keep asking if she was doing the right thing and her friends would assure her that she was. Kaoru eventually asked, "Sakura, do you love him?"

"Yes."

"Then there's no problem."

That ended Sakura's worrying about doing the right thing. Tsunade came and that was the signal that it was time to go. The girls filed out.

It was beautiful. Everyone was so happy to see it finally happen. Sasuke's and Sakura's story had been filled with tragedy. He had acted like he hated her from the beginning. She had been a fangirl. Then they got placed on the same team. She fell in love. He continued to hate everything. Then he almost left and lost precious trust. She gave him a chance and he had taken it. Now here they were.

Sasuke stood at the alter waiting on her to get there. He still hadn't gotten his revenge and he wondered if maybe he should have before he asked her to marry him. Then she came through the doors and it didn't matter anymore. Nothing really did but this moment. He had finally been allowed a chance to be happy. Itachi could wait. Actually, the rest of the world and it's problems could wait. Today Sasuke Uchiha was unavailable.

When it was over they had the after party. People danced, laughed, and gave advice to the knew couple. Kaoru eventually danced with Sasuke and gave him advice that he found the most helpful.

"You'll get angry and fight. That's okay just remember to admit it when your wrong and that that's okay too. Also you're a very reserved person Sasuke. Don't forget to remind her that you love her."

He grinned, "I'll remind her. Frequently."

Kaoru chuckled, "I thought you might but that's not what I meant. Say the words, Sasuke. She'll need to hear them especially after a fight."

Sasuke nodded, "I will." He then asked, "What about you? I've noticed the change in your relationship with Gaara."

She smiled, "Things are great."

"Has he asked you to marry him yet?"

"No. I don't think the idea has even occurred to him. He's even more in the dark about this kind of thing than you are, Sasuke."

He tilted his head, "How so?"

"You were loved once upon a time by your family. Then you gained friendship with Team 7. Now you have Sakura. Gaara lacked the love of a family or any other love growing up. He never took an interest in what love was or what people did when they found it. I don't know what he'll do now that he's admitted to loving me but I'll wait for it."

"You're a very patient person, Kaoru. You've waited...what?...fourteen years now.?

She smiled, "I know." The song ended, "Now you go find your wife and get out of here. It's about time you started your life again, Sasuke."

He smirked as a couple of ideas came into his head. "No problem."

Kaoru rolled her eyes and everyone rushed out to watch the couple leave for the honeymoon. Gaara stood next to Kaoru. After the couple had left they returned to their rooms to sleep. Gaara continued toying with the idea in his head.

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Please review. no flames


	26. Preparations

I know its been a while but I was very busy. Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy

Disclaimer: I no own

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**Ch. 25: Preparations  
**

Kaoru was walking through the village with a large smile. Everything was going wonderfully. Sasuke and Sakura had returned from their honeymoon a few days ago and they were both very happy. Their wedding had sparked something. Several of their friends began to get married shortly after they got back. Speaking of which Naruto was here with his new wife, Hinata, to visit Gaara. Even Naruto couldn't be dense forever. The blonde boy rushed up to her and gave her bear hug. Kaoru laughed and kissed his cheek. "It's nice to see you too, Naruto."

"Hello, Kaoru," Hinata said quietly.

"Welcome to Suna, Hinata."

"Where's, Gaara?" the hyperactive blonde asked.

"Should be in his office. Come on and I'll lead you there. I was about to go get him for lunch anyway," she told them.

The couple followed her through the winding streets to the building where the Kazekage's office was. Kaoru looked over her shoulder at them, "What brings you to Suna anyway?"

"Granny Tsunade wants to retire so she's finally selected her replacement hokage. Guess who it is?" Naruto said excitedly.

Kaoru smiled. Something never change and Naruto was one of them. He would forever he a happy excited person with his heart on his sleeve. She pretended to consider what he had said. "Umm, Shikamaru?"

Naruto shook his head, "Nope."

"Neji?"

"No."

"Sakura?"

"Nooo," Naruto sounded annoyed now.

Kaoru chuckled and took pity on him, "Alright, I give up. Who is it?"

"It's me. I'll become the official hokage after Tsunade is done training me," the blonde man said proudly.

"That's great Naruto. Sounds like your dream is coming true."

"I know. Everything is going so well now isn't it, Kaoru." His face took on a serious expression, "It makes me wonder what's about to go wrong."

To be honest Kaoru wondered the same thing. The Akatsuki was still out there and they still wanted Naruto's and Gaara's tailed beasts. Something was bound to go wrong sooner or later. She just prayed for later.

They walked into Gaara's office. He looked up and nodded his head in acknowledgment. Naruto began filling Gaara in on all the news including his impending promotion. Gaara congratulated him. Naruto continued to talk excitedly as they ate lunch and went home. Kaoru was still living in her own home and Gaara in his but no one saw the point. The two were rarely apart. The village was just waiting for their kage to get the nerve to ask Kaoru to marry him.

It was two days later when they found out what was going to go wrong. Sasuke rushed into the village like a bat out of hell with Sakura right behind him. They ran into Gaara's office and panted for breath.

"What's wrong?" Kaoru asked the moment she saw them. Naruto, Hinata, and she were in there with Gaara waiting on him so they could eat lunch.

"Konoha's been attacked. The Akatsuki were trying to get Naruto. They didn't know he wasn't in the village at the time," Sakura announced.

The room fell silent as the implications hit home. Then they all began asking questions at once. Well everyone but Gaara. He never seemed excited about anything unless it involved Kaoru's life. Sakura held up her hands to halt the flow of questions.

"Most of the village is alright. There were a few casualties but all things considered they weren't that bad. Tsunade wanted us to warn Naruto and Gaara-sama because they were the targets. Sooner or later they'd attack Suna."

"We need to take care of them," Gaara commented.

"Yes. We do," Sasuke agreed with a deadly calm. Itachi had been among those to attack his village.

Gaara stood and opened his door and ordered one of the shinobi out there to bring him his siblings, Baki, and Sasori. They walked into the room a few moments later. As usual Sasori and Temari were together. They had been one of the couples that marriage fever had hit. Actually, it had hit Temari. She had bulldozed Sasori into it to everyone's amusement. Kankuro was still single but Kaoru's cousin, Yumi Kawaguchi, seemed to be developing an attraction for him. She was here visiting Kaoru and had come in with the group when Gaara summoned them. Yuki was with Baki as usual since the two of them had been married for a few years and even had a child.

"What is it, Gaara?" Kankuro asked.

"We need to prepare for an attack. The Akatsuki are active and I don't want to be caught by surprise...again."

They nodded. Temari tilted her head, "What happened?"

"They attacked Konoha." Gaara quickly added before Temari could get worried, "Everyone is alright."

"That's good. I presume they were after Naruto."

Gaara nodded. He turned his attention to Sasori, "I don't suppose you have any information on where to locate them."

Sasori shook his head, "Most of us have never seen the leader, Pain, in person. It's always been the projected image." The puppet master frowned in consideration, "I could probably guess with a map and information on the places on it."

"We'll make sure you have it." The Kazekage turned to Naruto, "We should stay in the same village for now. It'll simplify everything. Since Konoha is still repairing damage from the last attack Suna is the best option for now."

The fox nodded his head, "Right. Sasuke-teme and I can check on the defenses to make sure there aren't any holes in them."

"Take Baki with you."

"Someone will also have to go to Konoha to get back up," Sasuke commented.

"I can go to Kirigakure with Yumi. The Mizukage will probably want to help and I know my clan will," Kaoru stated.

Gaara looked at her sharply. The last time the Akatsuki tried anything they had used Kaoru as a prisoner. He didn't want to let her out of his sight this time. "Yumi can go without you."

Kaoru looked over at him and was about to object when she noticed the fear in his eyes. Instead she smiled, "Alright, Gaara-kun. I'll stay in Suna."

Kankuro stepped forward, "I'll go with Yumi."

Gaara nodded and turned to Sakura, "Can you help Kaoru prepare the medics here?"

"Of course."

Plans continued to be made throughout the day. Gaara was true to his word. He didn't let Kaoru out of his sight for more than half an hour. Even during that half hour she wasn't allowed to be left alone. Gaara made sure that there were at least three other people with her. He refused to have a repeat of his last dealings with the Akatsuki. Kaoru was aware of what he was doing and didn't fight him. She wasn't too eager for a repeat either. Besides, if she wasn't kept safe then Gaara would be distracted. If that happened he might get himself hurt or worse...killed.

Kaoru shook her head to clear out that thought. She didn't even what to consider that possibility. It scared her just to know it could happen and would if the Akatsuki got their greedy hands on Gaara. No it wouldn't happen. She wouldn't let them touch him.

She walked into the Kazekage's office. Gaara was standing at his window looking out at the village. Sasuke, Naruto and Baki were standing behind them giving reports. Kaoru let out a small sigh. If these reports were very important then Gaara would skip lunch. Then she would have to convince him to change his mind. That was like trying to convince a river to flow in the other direction for a few days. She walked into the office hoping Gaara was hungry enough not to argue with her.

"Gaara-kun, it's time for lunch."

Everyone turned to look at her. Kaoru suppressed the urge to fidget. She felt like someone who was standing in front of a judge and jury.

"We can't take a break now, Kaoru. The Akatsuki could attack and any moment. By now they have to know that both Naruto and Gaara are here. We can't be caught by surprise again," Baki stated.

Karou's eyes narrowed. Normally she didn't challenge other people's authority or knowledge but this was different. This concerned Gaara's health and safety. That was all the mattered to Kaoru so that made all the difference.

"Tell me, Baki. Can a shinobi fight when he had not eaten?"

"Of course. Missing one meal won't change anything."

"Yes but if the Akatsuki will still be a threat tonight during dinner and tomorrow during breakfast. How will missing three meals affect your ability to fight? All of you need to eat while you can. Once the fighting starts then you really won't be able to take a break."

Bake let out a sigh. There wouldn't be any arguing with her right now. As long as she was determined to take care of Gaara she wouldn't back down. "Fine. But the meeting will continue after lunch."

"Alright," Kaoru agreed. Then she added, "And it will end at dinner time."

"Kaoru..." Baki started.

"They need to sleep, Baki. Live with it." She turned to Gaara who was looking at her with some amusement. "Let's go eat, Gaara-kun."

Sasuke and he stood and followed her out of the room. Kaoru looked at Sasuke, "Sakura is in the hospital still. I figured you would want to go drag her out."

The Uchiha nodded and left the Kazekage alone with his medical nin. As the two walked towards Gaara's house Kaoru told him all the information she had. Kankuro had returned with the Kawaguchi clan and several shinobi from Kirigakure. The Mizukage was more than willing to help them destroy the Akatsuki. Konoha had also sent extra troops. Everyone knew that the Akatsuki wanted Gaara and Naruto. To get them they would have to attack Suna. Now everyone was sending people to defend Suna and prevent the Akatsuki from getting what they wanted.

Gaara just wished they would attack already. He was getting tired of waiting. Besides, he had plans for his life but he didn't want to go through with them while the Akatsuki was around to threaten it. He looked over at Kaoru. He couldn't go through with his plans as long as the Akatsuki could threaten what was important to him. Everyone in Suna was aware of his feelings for his best friend. Hell, everyone in Suna, Konoha, and Kirigakure knew how he felt about Kaoru. If the Akatsuki found out they would use that against him. He couldn't let them. He wouldn't let them. But a part of him wanted to take what he wanted already. She was practically already his. She lived with him, ate with him, they were sharing the same damn bed already. The only thing missing was the wedding. Now that thought scared him more than the Akatsuki did.

She glanced over at him, "Are you alright, Gaara-kun?"

He blinked and looked away, "Fine."

Kaoru didn't look convinced but she didn't asked again. She knew he was worried but something else was going on. Gaara was nervous and jittery sometimes but he didn't get that way because of a fight. She wished she knew what was wrong but he wasn't talking. Not that not talking was unusual for Gaara. If he suddenly became a chatter box then she would worry.

Night fell on Suna and all seemed quiet. Then an explosion rocked the village.

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That's it for now. Let me know what you think


	27. Surrender

Finally. I was starting to think I'd never finish this chapter. Anyways, i hope you guys enjoy it.

Disclaimer: No I haven't suddenly decided I own Naruto just because I'm writing a story based on it

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**Ch. 26: Surrender**

The explosion rocked the village and everyone rushed to its source. Part of the wall surrounding Suna had been turned into rubble. Standing in the center was the Akatsuki. Gaara pushed Kaoru behind him when he saw the group and wondered if they could fight all of them. Kaoru examined the Akatsuki. She recognized a few of them. One of the two blondes was Deidara, who was probably the one that caused the explosion. The one that looked like a shark in a human form was Kisame. Next to Kisame was a man that looked a lot like Sasuke which meant he was Itachi. The others she identified by Sasori's descriptions. There was the plant man, , the only female member, , the silver haired man, , and the one that was wrapped up like a mummy, . There was one other member that she couldn't identify. He wore a mask with a single hole where an eye was suppose to be. Kaoru figured he was Sasori's replacement.

The last man was blonde with piercing eyes. He was the Akatsuki leader, Pain. From what Sasori had told them there were actually seven of him and each had unique abilities. Only one of them was present at that moment. The other six were probably hiding somewhere near by in case they were needed.

Sasori stepped up next to him with Sasuke and Naruto. "Every member of Akatsuki is here. That's unusual. Pain must really want you and Naruto."

Gaara glanced at his brother-in-law, "We won't go easily."

"I don't think they're going to fight just yet. Pain is stepping forward."

"I am Pain. Leader of the Akatsuki. Surrender Gaara and Naruto and I might spare the rest of you. If you don't then we'll level this village and take what we want anyway."

Kaoru glared at the Akatsuki over Gaara's shoulder. If they thought that for they would surrender those two then they were in for a big surprise. The blonde member that she remembered was Deidara looked directly at her and she flinched. He had been one of the two that had kidnapped her and Tamari several years ago. He knew what she meant to Gaara and if he knew the Pain knew. Kami help them if they decided to use her against Gaara. Unlike her friends she still wasn't capable of fighting someone with the Akatsuki's skills. She was an average fighter at best.

"Why in the hell should we surrender to you? You can't kill anyone with Gaara here," Naruto commented in his usual loudmouth fashion. "Or did you forget that he can protect the whole village with his sand?"

Pain smirked, "You've already lost."

"What?" Naruto asked but he didn't have to wait long for an answer.

Deidara threw out two objects and instead of exploding a smoke screen filled the area so that no one could see anything. Gaara heard coughing and people calling out to each other. They were waiting on an attack that never came. Instead the smoke floated away into the sky and no one seemed injured. The kazekage frowned. Surely they didn't throw that smoke screen out for no reason at all. They did something.

"How can you say we've lost? No one was even hurt in that," Temari demanded.

Pain smirked, "Gaara, Naruto, look behind you. Isn't someone missing?"

Gaara turned and couldn't see what Pain was talking about. He glanced at Naruto, who shrugged. The two scanned the area around them. Suddenly Naruto let out a growl, "Where's Hinata?"

Pain smirked and stepped aside. Behind him stood Itachi holding Hinata. Her arm was being twisted behind her so that she couldn't move. Naruto growled and started forward but stopped when Itachi pulled on Hinata's arm a little in warning. She whimpered in pain. "You bastards," Naruto growled but didn't move any closer.

Pain turned to Gaara, "Now for you, Gaara. Who is missing?"

This time Gaara didn't even bother looking. "Kaoru."

"Very good." Pain moved again. This time he revealed Deidara holding Kaoru in the same position as Hinata. The medic wasn't whimpering or crying. Instead she was glaring at her captors with absolute hatred. Gaara had to commend her for her pride even as he cursed himself for not leaving her at the house.

"Let them go," Naruto demanded.

"Now why would we do that. We need them to make you cooperate."

"Itachi, let Hinata go. She's an innocent girl," Sasuke stated as he glared at his brother.

Itachi looked at Sasuke. For a moment there was something in his eyes that no one could identify before he looked away again. "I will not."

"Itachi..."

"Don't waste your breath, Sasuke. Itachi might have been savable once but he's not anymore. He chose to give up his soul a long time ago," Sasori said calmly.

Sasuke nodded in acceptance. In the last few years he had lost a great deal of his hatred and anger. He still mourned the loss of his family but it no longer dominated his life. A part of him had hoped that he might get his brother back. Sasuke ruthlessly pushed that part of him aside for now. Itachi was the enemy and would pay for everything he had done. That was the only option left to either of them now.

"If we give ourselves up, will you release them?" Naruto asked.

"Don't even think it," Kaoru yelled. "I would rather die then let the Akatsuki get their hands on you two."

Deidara pulled Kaoru's arm and she yelped in pain. Gaara took an involuntary step forward. Kaoru glared at him, "Don't you dare, Gaara. I won't let you."

"Quiet girl," Pain stated. "We all know that the honorable kazekage would sacrifice the entire village before he'd let you die. Isn't that so, Gaara?"

"You bastard," Gaara growled.

"Now that's not nice. It's not my fault that you finally opened your heart. Didn't you know this would be the price? Weakness. A soft spot. You should have known that she would be used against you."

Itachi stepped back taking Hinata with him.

"Give her back, Itachi!" Naruto shouted.

"How about an exchange then," Pain suggested.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked in and uncertain tone. He obviously didn't trust anything Pain had to say.

"We will let Kaoru Tsukino and Hinata Uzumaki if..."

"If?" Gaara prompted.

Pain smirked, "If you and Naruto surrender yourselves first."

Kaoru and Hinata's eyes widened in fear. Kaoru looked at Gaara and saw it in his eyes. He was going to agree. She struggled. Deidara pulled her arm making her cry out in pain. "Stop moving girl. Don't make me hurt you."

"You're already hurting me," Kaoru growled at him. She looked at Gaara, "Don't you dare surrender. If you do, I swear I'll never forgive you."

"I'm with Kaoru," Hinata agreed while glaring at her husband.

Gaara and Naruto took a step back as they considered what to do. Pain looked back and Itachi and Deidara. He gave them a nod. The two akatsuki members pulled out kunai and held it up to the girls throats. "Now we wouldn't want anything terrible happening to these girls. Why don't you just give up peacefully? It'll spare everyone some heartache."

Gaara and Naruto exchanged a look. They had no choice. The two closed their eyes and nodded, "Fine. We give up."

"NO!!" Kaoru and Hinata shouted.

The two shinobi didn't look at the girls. Instead they calmly walked forward without a word. Kisame relieved them of all weapons, including Gaara's gourd. They even went to the precaution of putting chains on their wrists. Itachi and Deidara turned taking Kaoru and Hinata with them.

"You said you'd let them go," Naruto shouted.

"And I will. Just as soon as I have the nine tailed fox and the one tailed Shukaku. I should also remind your friends that if they attack Kaoru and Hinata will be the ones to pay the price," Pain responded with a grin. They had finally one. Gaara wouldn't risk Kaoru's life for any reason. Not even to save himself.

They left the village with their hostages and prisoners. To Gaara's surprise the Akatsuki took them to the village hidden in the rain, Amegakure. The building shot up into the sky and the villagers all coward away in fear of the Akatsuki. Naruto and Gaara were taken to different section of the village. All Kaoru and Hinata could do was watch them go in fear. Kaoru was expecting Pain to put her and Hinata into a dungeon but, to her surprise, he led them to a comfortable room. There were two beds for her and Hinata. The only two door were the entrance and the bathroom. Kaoru noted that there wasn't any windows. Although it was a comfortable prison it was still a prison all the same. The girls were tossed and and Pain stood blocking the door.

"Meals will be brought to you along with an extra set of clothes. There's a bathroom over there. The door will be locked so don't bother trying to leave this room," he told them as he shut the door.

"Wait!!" Kaoru shouted.

He paused and looked at her, "What is it?"

"Please don't hurt Gaara-kun. I'm begging you. Just let him go."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. We need what's inside him too badly to give it up now," Pain responded

"But if you take Shukaku away he'll die. Please. You already have all the other beasts. Why can't you just leave Gaara and Naruto alone. They've already suffered enough because of those beasts."

"We need all the beasts to take over the world. The loss of Gaara's and Naruto's life means nothing to me."

He shut the door and there was a deafening click when it locked. Kaoru collapsed and just cried. She didn't know what to do. They were locked in a room with no way out. Pain was on his way to kill Gaara and Naruto and there was nothing they could do. Hinata knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Kaoru. The other's will come and save us."

"Yes, but will they be here in time to save Gaara and Naruto."

Hinata smiled, "We have to believe they will. Otherwise we've already lost."

Kaoru wiped away her tears and stood up, "You're right. Besides. I still have to hurt Gaara-kun myself."

"For what?"

"For surrendering in the first place. Come on. Let's try to find a way out."

"Right."

The two girls began searching the room for anyway out. Meanwhile Pain walked into the room Gaara and Naruto were standing in. The two of them watched Pain with hate filled eyes. Pain smirked, "Let's start with Naruto."

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Please let me know what you think. Thanks.


	28. The Final Battle

This is the second to last chapter. The story is almost finished. For those of you who do not read "the story no one knew" i apologize for taking too long to update. I've been busy with school and I'm also writing a book (more like a story i made up from scratch rather than a fanfic but calling it a book is easier) and that's taking up a lot of my time. Thank you for being so patient.

Now i will tell you that a majority of this chapter is fighting and I'll warn you know i suck at fight scenes (at least i think i do) so please be patient with me. I will also admit that i'm not super familiar with the akatsuki's fighting style so i faked it a lot. basically imagine a large building with fighting in every room and lots of shinobi everywhere. And since I like happy endings where the bad guy get's what they deserve in the end, all the akatsuki (except for itachi) die in the end. Itachi is an exception because I decided to follow the manga on that part. The fight between him and Sasuke also resembles the one in the manga (i believe it's chapter 392) but i didnt' want to kill Itachi (hate killing the good guys so i try not to) so he gets to live.

Insert standard disclaimer here and now you can read the chapter.

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**Ch. 27: The Final Battle**

Kaoru and Hinata looked at the door in consideration. It was their only way out. Hinata used her byakugan to see if their was a guard on the other side. There was. It was the man with blond hair that had held captured Kaoru. Sasori said his name was Deidara. The two agreed to escape through the door and knock him out. Kaoru carefully picked the lock from their side of the door. Hinata watched in amazement.

"Where did you learn to pick locks, Kaoru?"

"When I was younger, Gaara's father didn't like me to visit Gaara. He would lock the door so that I couldn't get it. I taught myself to pick the locks to get in to see Gaara anyway."

"Why didn't he want you to see Gaara?"

"Well, to him, Gaara was a tool. If Gaara suddenly developed a heart then he would no longer be a useful tool. I was a threat to his plans for Gaara."

"Because you were his friend and he cared about you."

Kaoru nodded and she stepped back, "The lock is open. Now we just have to knock Deidara out. Use the byakugan. When he has his back to us, we'll go out and have him out in less than five seconds."

Hinata nodded and concentrated, "Byakugan." Her eyes changed and the veins around them seemed more apparent. She watched the figure on the other side of the door for several moment. When she was sure of the timing she opened the door slowly and quietly. Kaoru slipped out as quietly at possible and let her chakra flow into her hands, making them glow green with medical chakra. She quickly placed her hands on Deidara's neck. He fell to the ground as Kaoru used her chakra to make him unconscious.

"Should we leave him alive?" Hinata asked when she came out of the room.

"I don't know. Probably not but I can't kill a man, even an evil one, in cold blood."

"Me neither though I might change my mind if anything happens to Naruto."

"I second that," Kaoru agreed. "Let's just tie him up real good and lock him in the room."

Hinata nodded in agreement and helped Kaoru drag Deidara into the room they had been locked in. The two kunoichi stripped him of the Akatsuki cloak and all his weapons. They tied him up so that he wouldn't be able to move and hid all of his weapons where he couldn't get them without being untied. Both of the girls expected him to escape but they hoped it would stall him long enough for them to find Gaara and Naruto.

Once they were back outside, Hinata activated her byakugan again and they walked through the building looking for Naruto and Gaara. Hinata saw an area with a lot of chakra inside and knew that was where Naruto was. The two girls headed in that direction as fast as they could praying that they weren't too late.

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Naruto wasn't sure what he should do. Pain had him standing in the center of a circle with every member of the Akatsuki standing around him. Gaara was chained to the wall unable to leave the room at all. They were both unarmed, making them sitting ducks. The Akatsuki began to summon their chakra. Naruto began sending a silent message to Sasuke telling his friend that if he didn't get here soon, Naruto would come back from the dead and haunt him for the rest of his life.

Naruto glanced over to see that Gaara was gone. He scanned the room but didn't see the kazekage anywhere. The blonde looked up when he heard mummering above him and saw that the Akatsuki had realized that Gaara was missing as well. Naruto knew his friend wouldn't just leave him so Gaara had to be in the room somewhere. Suddenly several people attacked the Akatsuki members from every direction. Naruto recognized several of the shinobi from the sand and leaf village. He also saw Kaoru's clan and the mizukage. Naruto joined the fight without hesitation. He had never been so happy to see the the other shinobi. Naruto scanned the area as he tried to locate someone who could tell him what was going on. Most importantly he wanted to know if Hinata was alright. He spotted Neji and Shikamaru and rushed over to them.

"Hey, have you guys ever heard the phrase 'just in the nick of time'?" he demanded of them with some irritation.

"I think I remember that one from somewhere," Shikamaru responded lazily. "Are you alright?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah. Where's Gaara and the girls?"

"Gaara is fighting with one of the seven Pains here. Kakashi was the one who released him and returned his weapons. Here are yours by the way." Shikamaru handed him his weapons. "We haven't found the girls yet."

"What do you mean 'one of the Pains'?" Naruto demanded.

"Turns out that Pain has control of six bodies other than his own. That means there are seven of him in a way. The only features they have in common are orange hair and their eyes. Jiraiya and Tsunade are fighting one of them that can control rain and has gravity/repulsion techniques. Guy, Tenten, and Lee are fight yet a different one that can absorb chakra attacks," Neji replied. "I'm going to help Sasori and Kankuro fight one that uses projectiles and puppets."

"My team, Shino, and Kiba, are fighting a fourth that can summon animals like centipedes and rhinos. Pains number five and six, neither of which I know what can do, are fighting Kaoru's clan along with the Mizukage. Gaara is fighting the last one which we're told by Jiraiya is the original Pain. I don't know what he's capable of either."

Naruto shook his head, "There are seven Pains...Who's fighting the rest of the Akatsuki?"

"Anyone who's left. Speaking of which, Sauske needs your help. He's fighting Itachi and some other man. Sasori said that he was an underling and must have been promoted after he left."

"Right."

Naruto rushed off in the direction Shikamaru had pointed in. It didn't take him long to find Sasuke. The two Uchihas were battling it out. Sasuke threw a kunai and Itachi easily dodged it while making hand signs. He placed his fingers to his mouth and blew out a large black fireball aimed at his younger brother. Sasuke's hands moved so fast that Naruto didn't know what signs he made. Only that he blocked Itachi's large fireball with his own.

Naruto saw another man coming up behind Sasuke while he was still releasing fire from his own mouth. This man wore a mask over his face with a single hole in it. He had to be the other fighter that Shikamaru told him about. The masked man was about to strike Sasuke with a kunai. Naruto jumped I and slammed into the man knocking him to the side.

"Sasuke, are you alright?!" Naruto called out.

"Fine. What took you so long?" his friend demanded.

"I was busy trying not to die," Naruto began helping Sasuke fight. He left Itachi to Sasuke since the younger Uchiha had been hunting for his older brother for years. Naruto looked at the other man, "Why don't we let the brothers fight uninterrupted. I'll take you on."

The masked man nodded, "That will work just fine, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto blinked when he saw the sharingan eye in the only hole in the mask. "Hey, you have a sharingan. Just who are you?"

"My name is Madara Uchiha. I'm the real leader of the Akatsuki." Madara took a fighting stance, "Come at me if you dare. Let's see what you have future hokage of the leaf village.

"Alright. But remember you asked for it." Naruto summoned his shadow clones. Every clone attacked at once.

Madara grinned. So the boy did have promise. This could be an interesting battle after all. He blocked every attack Naruto threw at him and even destroyed several of his clones in the process. While he was fighting the clones, Naruto prepared a Rasengan attack and aimed. When Madara destroyed the last clone, Naruto was ready. He attacked. Madara barely managed to dodge and he felt the Rasengan barely brush his side. The pain was great and he nearly collapsed from it. He looked back and saw a large hole in the wall where Naruto's Rasengan had struck. He made a mental note not to let that attack connect and prepared for Naruto's next attack.

Sasuke had the upper hand in his fight. Itachi was weakening and his eyesight was terrible because of the Mangekyo Sharingan. He knew he was going blind and it was time to put his final plan into action. His attacks became more fierce as he forced Sasuke to use ever ounce of his strength. Sasuke felt something in him begin to change as the effort of fighting began to trigger his curse seal. The familiar burn on his shoulder began and spread through his body. The more he fought the worse it became. Suddenly Sasuke lost control and he activated Kirin, a technique he had developed with Kakashi during his three years of training. Storm clouds formed in the sky and lighting broke through the roof and around Sasuke. He focused the lighting attack and aimed it at his older brother. Suddenly a earth began to shake as Itachi summoned the Susanoo technique. A large monster rose out of the ground and stood ready to fight behind Itachi. Sasuke felt something in him fighting to get out as the mark on his shoulder began to burn even more. Suddenly he heard a voice in his head that sounded hauntingly familiar. Sasuke lost consciousness after that. Itachi waited as Sasuke's body used Orochimaru's hydra technique. A monster with several snakelike heads attacked Itachi but the monster Itachi has summoned used a sword to chop off all of the heads at once. The hydra began to melt away with a cry of pain.

Naruto and Madara had stopped their battle during this process. When Naruto saw Sasuke collapse he rushed over and caught him. He pulled one of Sauske's arms over his shoulder to support him. "Sasuke-teme? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Sasuke gasped. "The mark."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke's shoulder and was surprised to see it was bare. "It's gone."

Sasuke looked up to see Itachi leaning against a wall. "Why?"

Itachi gave a humorless chuckle, "I never intended to live through that technique."

"You won't live for much longer now, Itachi. I will kill you for this betrayal," someone said. Everyone looked over to see Madara aiming a kunai at Itachi's heart. Sasuke's brother was too exhausted from the technique to dodge.

"Naruto!" Sasuke snapped. For the first time in Sasuke's life he asked for help from his friend. "Help him. Don't let him kill my brother."

"Don't worry. I won't," Naruto promised as he tapped into the fox's chakra to increase his speed. He raced across the room and caught the kunai before it connected with Itachi. Naruto glanced back at Itachi, "I owe you for helping Sasuke so I'll make sure you live through this, but you will answer our questions when this is over."

Itachi gave a nod and moved over towards Sasuke to make sure his brother was alright. Madara started to attack Itachi again but Naruto jumped in the way. He glared at Madara and practically growled. "Your fight is with me, Madara."

"So be it," Madara stated and attacked Naruto. Naruto wasn't going to let him leave this fight alive. With All the chakra he had left along with some of the fox's, he summoned a shadow clone and began to form the Rasengan. Madara activated his mangekyo sharingan. Cold crimson eyes met with determined blue ones and their owners clashed.

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Hinata and Kaoru stood in the doorway watching the battle around them. The smell of blood and sweat was in the air. Kaoru could sense nothing but fear and pain from the people around her. The suna medic saw Sasori fighting a man that was shooting missiles and using puppets. Kaoru rushed over to him. "Sasori!"

He looked over and a look a relief crossed his face, "Where did you come from?"

"They had us locked in a room. Where's Gaara and Naruto?"

"Fighting. Yes they were alive last time I saw them. No you can't go find them. Get someplace safe. They'll both kill everyone if something happens to the two of you," Sasori ordered them.

He left them to continue helping Neji and Kankuro fight one of the Pains. This one used puppets and had six arms and three faces. He was large and as far as Sasori could tell his body wasn't made out of flesh. Neji and Kankuro were keeping him distracted while Sasori tried to find a weak spot in his machinery. So far he wasn't having any luck. Then he saw it. When the machine turned left its left leg buckled just a little.

"Kankuro, it's left leg."

Kankuro looked and saw it. "Neji, keep him distracted while we permanently disable this puppet."

Naji nodded and started attacking the machine. The two puppeteers aimed their puppet string chakra and gripped the machine's left leg. There was a loud crash as the machine fell down and a clang when the leg was ripped off its hinges. Neji, Kankuro, and Sasori preceded to take it apart piece by piece. Sasori spoke into a radio, "One Pain down. Six to go."

Hinata had activated her byakugan and located Naruto. She rushed in his direction to make sure he would be alright. When she found him she hid so that she clapped her hands over her mouth and her eyes widened in fear. He had his Rasengan ready and a man was charging at him. Hinata watched in horror the area around them exploded as the two met. She let out a relieved breath as Naruto jumped out of the smoke. Hinata saw something out of the corner of her eye and turned towards it. She saw her team and Team 10 fighting what looked like a young man with bright orange hair that was using large animals to fight. Hinata took one last look at Naruto then joined Shino and Kiba in their battle.

She used her 64 palms protection technique to destroy a giant crustacean that the man had summoned. Kiba's clan were fighting a large nine headed dog. The man was about to summon yet another monster when, Ino used her mind transfer jutsu. The man suddenly stopped moving. Shikamaru used his shadow possession jutsu to possess the man. Ino released her jutsu and the man came back to himself only to discover he couldn't move. With a few hand signs Shikamaru had the shadow snaking up the man's body and around his neck strangling him. Hinata heard Shikamaru say into a radio, "Two down. Five to go."

"_We've destroyed one as well," Jiraiya replied. "That makes three down and four to go." _(A/N: Italics are the responses coming through the radio)

"_We've also killed Kisame though it took nearly all of my teams chakra supply to do it," Kakashi replied._

"_Itachi is on our side it seems," Sasuke's voice came from the radio. "Naruto has just fatally wounded Madara Uchiha. He won't survive the battle now."_

"Who's left?" Shikamaru spoke into the radio.

"_Zetsu, Hidan, Kakuzu, and Konan," Sasori answered. "Temari is taking care of Zetsu now."_

"_Is Hidan some guy who claims to be immortal?" asked Neji._

"_Yes," Sasori replied._

"_Then he's dead. I fought him after Sasori, Kankuro, and I destroyed the first Pain."_

"Then that leaves Kakuzu and Konan," Shikamaru stated. "Let's find them and make sure they're not left for too long."

"_Right," everyone replied._

Meanwhile, Kaoru tried not to stare at the man that looked remarkably like a plant. Temari was fighting him and seemed to be holding her own fairly well. There were several other sand shinobi fighting with her so Kaoru decided not to bother joining the fight. She didn't think she would be of any help anyway. Then she heard Gaara. She rushed in the direction of his voice and found him. Gaara was fighting with Pain. Kaoru watched in horror as Pain delivered a painful blow to Gaara's midsection. Gaara doubled over briefly but came up and punched Pain under his jaw. Sand came up surrounding the two of them. Kaoru tried not to scream in fear as the two of them watched the fight. The sand sank back into Gaara's gourd and she let out a relieved sigh. He was still alive.

Pain looked over to the doorway. He aimed an attack at Gaara then smirked. The kazekage looked confused for just and instant. Pain suddenly changed his position and fired his attack. Gaara spun around and felt all the blood drain from his face as he saw where the attack was aimed.

Kaoru watched a barrage of fireballs heading for her with horror. She knew she couldn't survive this one. There was no where to dodge to and nothing to hide behind. She closed her eyes and waited for the thousands of fireballs to strike their target.

For Gaara everything was moving in slow motions and he heard nothing. The only thing he saw was Kaoru standing right in the path of the fireballs. There was an explosion that rocked the everything as the fireballs crashed to the ground. Kaoru was gone. Time started to move normally again but Gaara still heard and saw nothing but the smoke rising from where Kaoru had been. There was nothing left. Kaoru was dead. His mind kept screaming it over and over again. Kaoru was dead. He felt something in him break with an almost audible snap. Kaoru was dead. The transformation started without his approval. The sand surrounded him and began to form arms and legs around his own body. Before anyone had time to stop him Shukaku was released. Gaara didn't even try to stop it. Kaoru was dead.

Shukaku emerged and began his assult on the four Pains that were left and any other member of the Akatsuki. He was extremely pissed. This added to it's usual bloodlust and malice made him a force to be reckoned with. His current target was every member of the Akatsuki for attacking what was his. They would pay dearly. The Akatsuki did fight back. With one wind bullet he fatally wounded one of the Pains and knocked everyone else back. He began using the sand and wind to destroy the Akatsuki one by one. Shukaku raised a sand storm so that no one could see what was going on anymore. Several tense minutes passed as everyone strained to see through the sand to the battle inside.

There was a collective sigh of relief when the sand died down to show the Akatsuki's bodies laying on the ground. None of them were moving. Shukaku turned to face the other shinobi. Everyone held their breath. None of them had the energy to fight Shukaku just then. Shukaku grinned, "Looks like there's more fun to be had." He raised a hand and prepared to attack. Everyone scattered. Sasuke tried to attract Shukaku's attention while Naruto raced up to wake up Gaara. Naruto almost made it before Shukaku shook him off sending him plummeting to the ground. Kakashi managed to catch him before he hit the ground. Shukaku drew in a breath to use the wind bullet.

"Gaara-kun, Stop!"

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Don't forget to let me know what you think of it.


	29. The End

That's it. This is the final chapter. I hope you like it. It acts as both and ending and a epilogue. I'm going to miss this story very much. I've come to like this story a lot and the characters. Oh, well. I'll finish my other two and start a new one.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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**Ch. 28: The End**

Shukaku stopped moving and turned with a grin. Kaoru looked a little worse for wear but she was unharmed. He had known of course. His sand protected her instinctively just like it did for Gaara. A dome of sand had formed around her a second before the fireballs had connected, protecting her from the blast. Unlike Gaara, Shukaku had been angry that someone had attacked her in the first place not because she had died.

"You've finally woken up," he greeted her.

Kaoru nodded, "Thank you for saving me, Shukaku. I owe you but can you please not kill my friends? Gaara will be very unhappy if you do and I don't want that."

He let out a sigh, "But it's so much fun." He looked down at her and let out another sigh, "Fine. I suppose you want me to wake Gaara up while I'm at it."

She smiled, "That would be nice."

He pretended to consider it for just a moment then said, "Alright but just this once."

The sand began to melt away and Gaara began falling through the air. Kankuro jumped up and caught his little brother before he hit he ground. Gaara's eyes opened slowly and he sat up with a groan. "What happened?"

"Shukaku was released and nearly killed us all after he had destroyed all the Akatsuki members," Kankuro replied.

Gaara closed his eyes as he remembered why Shukaku had been released. "Kaoru."

She heard the pain and sorrow in Gaara's voice and rushed over. "I'm right here, Gaara-kun."

His eyes snapped open and looked right into her crimson gaze. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Gaara reached out and tentatively touched her face as if he were afraid she wasn't real. He stood up and pulled her to her feet. Kaoru was surprised to find his arms around her waist and him pulling her against him. Gaara just held on tight and thanked all the gods that she was alright. "I thought I lost you," he whispered in her ear so low that only she could hear him.

She wrapped her arms around him and whispered, "You can't lose me. Shukaku is too protective."

Gaara smirked and picked her up. He turned to everyone, "Let's go home."

Everyone agreed full heartedly. The sand shinobi arrived at Suna several days later. Everyone was exhausted but happy. They were finally home. Kohaku rushed forward and Kaoru lifted him. She held him close while he told her how worried he had been and that he was glad she was alright. Her grandmother and grandfather came up to her with identical relieved looks. Kaoru looked at Makoto in surprise.

"You came all the way here from Kirigakure?" she asked him.

"Of course. I heard that you had been kidnapped. You didn't expect me to sit there and do nothing did you," he demanded of her.

Kaoru put Kohaku down and hugged both of her grandparents tightly. Many more people came up to reassure themselves that she really was alright. Kaoru spent the rest of the day telling people that she fine and glad to be home. Gaara stayed out of the way and just kept her in his sights. He would have plenty of time with her later. The sun set and Kaoru was exhausted. Gaara saw this and lifted her into his arms. Everyone looked at him in mild surprise.

"Kaoru's tired," was all he said as he walked away.

Kaede and Makoto exchanged glances. "He asked me the question earlier," Makoto stated.

Kaede grinned, "Good. That means Gaara-sama is finally taking the next step."

Kohaku listened to his grandparents talk and wondered what they were talking about. The little boy stood and followed after the two people he cared about most in his life. When he saw them standing in front of Kaoru's house, he hid so that they wouldn't see him. They were talking about something and he wanted to know what it was.

"Kaoru, I have never been so scared in my life," Gaara was telling her.

"I said I was sorry. I don't know what else to tell you."

"Don't say anything," Gaara told her.

The kage pulled her to him and Kohaku closed his eyes. He heard a muffled squeak from his mother but nothing else for a moment. Moment later he heard panting and risked opening his eyes. Gaara had his forehead resting against Kaoru's. The two of them just stood there for a moment before Gaara spoke again.

"Kaoru."

"What is it, Gaara-kun?"

"I've been meaning to ask you something for several months now." He drew in a deep breath, "I think I finally know what I want."

"What?" she asked curiously.

What he said in reply was so low that only Kaoru could hear. Kaoru looked up at the kazekage with wide red eyes. Gaara watched her carefully and finally said, "You're making me nervous, Kaoru. Say something."

She smiled and threw her arms around his neck, "Yes. Of course I will."

Gaara smiled in relief. He looked over towards the compounds entrance, "And of course you and Kohaku will move in with me. You don't object to that do you kid."

Kohaku came rushing out with excitement in his blue eyes, "Really?!"

Gaara nodded, "Since your mother did just agree to marry me."

The little boy jumped into his mother's arms and could only repeat himself, "Really?!"

Kaoru laughed, "Yes, really."

"Well, it's about damn time," a familiar voice stated. Gaara and Kaoru turned to see Kankuro and the rest of Suna standing there. Everyone had on identical grins.

Temari placed her hands on her hips, "You two waited long enough. Now the wedding has to be soon. I don't want there to be time for anything to go wrong. We've been waiting on this for what feels like forever."

Gaara's eyes narrowed and whispered to Kaoru, "Can't we just get eloped?"

She laughed, "Sorry, Gaara-kun."

He groaned and suddenly knew how Sasuke had felt when told he had to go through a wedding. The next several months was a blur of plans and decorations. All of Suna was preparing for the wedding everyone had been waiting on. Before anyone knew it the time had come. Gaara was standing on the edge of the cliff over looking his village. The sun was setting creating a breath taking background. The entire village had come, along with Kaoru's clan from Kirigakure and all their friends from Konoha. Gaara was still wishing they had just eloped. He caught Sasuke's smirk and reminded himself why he wasn't punching the Uchiha. Kaoru would be upset if he punched anyone on their wedding day. Damn it. He should have made sure no one was listening when he asked her to marry him. Then he wouldn't be in this mess.

Then he saw her. Kaoru walked up to him in her simple white gown. He could see the ruby heart he had given her five years ago hanging from it's silver chain. She smiled at him and nothing else mattered anymore. All he saw was her. He felt something inside change when they kissed at the end of the ceremony. That place in his heart that had been broken by years of hatred and his uncle's betrayal was gone now. His uncle was right. Love did heal wounds to the heart.

_----------ten years later----------_

"Come on, papa. Momma's waiting on us for lunch," a little five year old girl informed her father as she pulled him behind her. She looked remarkably like her mother except for her eyes, which were a sea foam green. The little girl was filled with excitement because her older brother, Kohaku, had just returned from a mission. She couldn't wait to see him again.

The two reached the restaurant and a boy about ten years old was waiting for them at the door. He resembled his father in every way, a constant annoyance to his mother. She had to carry him around for nine months and he looked like his father. The boy saw them two, "You're late. Momma was about to come to get you."

"I hoped you stopped her, Haru," his father told the boy.

"Of course I did." The boy fidgeted just a little, "Kohaku and Uncle Sasori helped."

"Good. Let's go inside before no one can stop her."

The three walked in and saw a large group in the corner. Konoha's shinobi from teams 7, 8, and 10 were all there along with Temari, Kankuro, and Sasori. They were all in Konoha to celebrate Naruto's promotion. The knucklehead had finally become Hokage when Tsunade retired.

Naruto looked up and saw them, "Gaara, you're late."

"Sorry. Paperwork."

"Will you and Sasuke every change. The two of you need to learn to speak in complete sentences," Naruto complained.

A woman stood up and walked over to Gaara. He smiled at her. She had long dark hair with two shoulder length locks framing her face. She was currently wearing a loose fitting dress since she was at least three month pregnant. Her crimson eyes smiled up at her husband. "Gaara-kun, the paperwork could have waited."

He shrugged.

She sighed and just snuggled close to him. A boy with shaggy blonde hair came up to them with his own grin, "Hey, dad."

Gaara looked at Kohaku. The boy was nearly as tall as he was now. His deep blue eyes were filled with happiness showing that he had indeed inherited his mother's personality. "You haven't changed much."

"Why should I?" Kohaku replied with a shrug.

"Papa, can I stay the night with Kimiko and Rin," his daughter asked, motioning to a girl with pink hair and emerald eyes.

Natsumi was Sasuke's and Sakura's youngest child. Their two oldest children were both boys. The oldest was the same age as Gaara's and Kaoru's son, Haru. Sasuke and Sakura had named him Fugaku, after Sasuke's father. Fukagu was also a spitting image of his father. The other boy, who was about seven years old, was named Hatori and also resembled his father except for his emerald eyes. Both boys had activated their sharingans and were in the ninja academy in Konoha. Like their father and uncle they were one of the best students in their class.

Rin was Naruto's and Hinata's middle child. She had blonde hair and the Hyuga's silver eyes. Unlike Natsumi and Kimiko, she only had one older brother named Minato. He was just like his father in every way, a hyperactive knucklehead, and like his father he had a great deal of strength in him. Her younger sister, Sango, was only a year old and looked just like her mother.

"Only if their parents say she can, Kimiko," Kaoru replied to her daughters question.

Kimiko and Natsumi were both the same age and had become very close friends. Rin was a year younger than Kimiko and Natsumi but the three girls were thick as thieves. It was fitting since their parents were the same. Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara were often training together and helping each other out. Kaoru, Sakura, and Hinata were always talking and comparing notes. Now that Kaoru was pregnant again the other two were visiting Suna frequently to help her get ready for the baby. It was only fitting that their children develop close friendships with each other. Even their boys were close to each other.

Hinata smiled, "Of course you can stay Kimiko. Rin has already asked if she could stay the night with Natsumi."

"And we've given our permission. The more the merrier," Sakura added.

Sasuke tried not to groan. Three five year old girls was too much for him. It was hard enough keeping up with only one girl. Though that could be because he was an overprotective father. Hatori rushed up to Sasuke, "Dad! Dad!"

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Uncle Itachi agreed to take us all camping if you guys say it's okay."

"Who's 'us all'?" Naruto asked.

Kohaku grinned, "All the boys. I'm going with them. Itachi thought that all of you would like a break from all the little brats. His words not mine."

"Uncle Itachi wouldn't call us brats," Hatori objected. "Would he?"

Sakura chuckled, "He probably would but it's like your father calling you twerp."

Hatori thought about it and somehow worked it out with his seven year old logic. He smiled brightly, "Okay mommy. So can we go with Uncle Itachi?"

"You and Fugaku can but the other's have to ask their own parents," Sasuke informed him.

Kohaku and Haru both looked at Kaoru and Gaara with identical pleading looks. Kaoru chuckled, "You can both go. Kohaku, I expect you to keep an eye on Haru."

"Of course, mom. I always watch out for Haru," Kohaku assured her.

She smiled, "I know you do."

The children eventually scattered to wherever they were going to be for the night with their parents' permission. Kaoru turned to Naruto with a smile, "Congratulations. You finally did it."

He grinned, "I know. Sometimes I still can't believe it. Tomorrow I will be the Hokage."

"How's Neji and Tenten these days?" Kaoru asked.

"They're fine. Neji had become the head of our clan." Hinata smiled, "You know that they have twin boys now right?"

"Yes. Tenten told me and I even met the two of them earlier today. They look like their father."

"They act like him too."

Kaoru grinned, "That ought to make Tenten happy."

"It drives her crazy. She's always saying that she carries them around for nine months and they look and act like him. Where's the justice in that?" Hinata replied laughing.

"How about Shikamaru and Ino?"

"Unfortunately for Shikamaru, their oldest is a girl that acts just like Ino. Ino's pregnant again though so Shikamaru is hoping for a boy."

They six adults continued to talk for several hours as they began to talk about everything and nothing. The sun had set by the time Kaoru and Gaara reached the apartment they were given in Konoha. Kaoru stood on a balcony and watched the sky. A pair of strong arms came around her waist and she leaned back against her husband with a smile. Kaoru felt the slight kick of the baby growing inside of her.

"Can you believe that we're here? That we're married and have three wonderful kids and one more on the way?" she asked him.

"Yes."

"So articulate. Somethings never change," she told him with a smile.

He smirked, "Would you want me to?"

"No."

"Now who's articulate?"

She laughed and turned in his arms so that she faced him, "I guess I picking up some of your bad habits. Kind of like Haru. Did you know that your son can manipulate sand? He also doesn't show his emotions when he's around anyone but us."

Gaara just nodded with a rare smile. Of course he knew. He knew everything that went on with his family. Gaara knew that his son was the top student in his class. He knew that Kimiko was friends with every kid in her class and was much like her mother and Kohaku.

His smile turned into a smirk. He also knew that this was a rare occasion. He had his wife all to himself for the night a probably most of the next day. Gaara pulled her closer and whispered in her ear, "Why don't you come to bed."

She tried not to chuckle, "Is that all you think about? We already have two kids and another on the way."

"And?" He brushed his lips against her neck.

Kaoru felt a shiver run down her spine. Gaara grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the room. She watched him with amused red eyes. He watched her with a hungry sea foam gaze. Kaoru rolled her eyes with a laugh as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

"Fine. Let's go to bed, Sabaku no Gaara."

"I'm glad you agree with me, Kaoru Tsukino."

Later that night, Gaara was laying down with his head propped on his hand. He gazed down at his wife. He had lied earlier. There were still times he couldn't believe she was his. Her crimson eyes opened slowly and looked up at him with a smile.

"See. I told you I would always be your friend and that one day you would believe me."

He chuckled, "I should have just listened to you from the start."

"Yes, you should have," she told him smugly.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too, Gaara-kun, and I always have," she replied.

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The End

And not to sound cheesy or anything but they lived happily ever after....okay so it was cheesy but i liked it. I hope you liked this story. As usual check my profile page for any updates on potential stories and you can let me know if there is one you would like to read. I will probably update it tomorrow with my new ideas.

Oh, almost forgot. Please let me know what you thought of this story.


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